Power Rangers Thunder Strike
by bandgeek18
Summary: The evil Chaotic Storm Empire has risen. Lead by their leader, Emperor Stormicon, they plan to destroy the world, like they've done in other dimensions. Two guardians of the planet must call on five teenagers to fight this enemy as the Thunder Strike power rangers!
1. Team Bios

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

A/N: Hey guys! Well this is my new team. These are just bios and I'll probably start the series next week! Hope you'll be interested!

Leona Stevens

Red Ranger

Power: Rain

Hawk Zord

Age: 15

Description: long dark brown hair; light blue eyes; 5'10''; medium build

Personality: Leo is a musical prodigy with a had work ethic. She is a natural leader, but is also very shy. She always believes in hard work and trying your best. She is a kind girl who tries to give everyone a fair chance. She loves most kinds of music, but because her parents are very conservative Christians, Leo is only allowed to play church music and classical music. She's not very rebellious so she's never taken an interest in things her parents don't approve of such as: having never listened to the "devil music" genres, or reading books that she has been banned from reading. Like Harry Potter. She is very good under pressure, and rocks all auditions thrown her way. She doesn't really have any friends because she spends all her time practicing her music.

Like/Dislikes: violin; guitar; chocolate; singing; classical music/over-confidence; lazy people

Family: she has a mom and a dad, but no other close relatives

Dream: to become a professional musician.

Christella Reynolds

Blue Ranger

Power: wind

Tiger Zord

Age: 16

Description: honey blonde hair; blue eyes; light brown freckles on her nose; slightly rosy cheeks; 5'10''; strong build

Personality: Chris is a dancer and very proud of it. She's been dancing since she was 2 and has a real love for it. She is also a straight A student and the student body president for her class. She likes attention and tends to boss people around. She can be very rude, especially to people who she believes aren't as smart, so she can be condescending. She gets impatient with annoying teenagers, especially druggies. She takes very good care of her body, and is proud of her muscles, not caring what other people think of it. She is ambitious, and incredibly dedicated.

Likes/Dislikes: dancing; music; performing; working out; studying different kinds of dance/sloppiness; junk food; rude people; druggies.

Family: she lives with her mom and her dad and has an older brother

Dream: to be a famous dancer

Austin Copeland

Green Ranger

Power: lightning

Bobcat Zord

Age: 16

Description: 5'10.5; ordinary build; black hair with green and blue highlights; three piercings on his right ear; blue eyes

Personality: Austin is a trouble maker. He gets into any trouble he can, anyway he can find. He's been arrested before for theft and went to juvie for a couple years. He does marijuanna with his friends all the time and has been suspended from school more than once. His parents have tried sending him to multiple reform schools, but he doesn't care about school work. Austin's parents fight all the time and never really try to discipline him though. He doesn't respect adults because he thinks they're just trying to control him. Despite all his issues, he's a good person underneath who is fiercely protective of his friends and doesn't appreciate bullies. He has a strong need for being accepted and having friends.

Likes/Dislikes: doing nothing; junk food; smoking drugs; punk rock and folk music; stealing things out of lockers/being told what to do; rules; schools in general; teachers and cops; bullies.

Family: He has his parents, who fight a lot, and a brother who goes to military school

Dream: he doesn't have any real futures goals

Andrew Thatcher

White Ranger

Power: Snow

Fox Zord

Age: 15

Description: shaggy hair that's blonde at the roots and dark at the tips; hazel eyes; strong build; 5'11''

Personality: Andy is a regular guy who tries to fly under the radar. He doesn't like to stand out in anything, wether it be academically or anything else. He is very creative, but is not very good with numbers. He doesn't consider himself artistic because he can't draw. Despite this, he likes to read and write short stories. Because of how scared he gets of criticism though, he doesn't let anyone read his works. He is introverted and asexual, so he talks to people, but can only do so for a few hours at a time. He is friendly though, and is very protective and nice once people get to know him. His favorite thing to do is to sit in his 'cocoon' and read or write. He is very proud of his sexuality and will defend himself against anyone.

Likes/Dislikes: writing stories (especially with ace characters); being alone; watching and listening to people; anything peppermint; cake/being in large groups; talking a lot; long periods of social interaction; meeting new people a lot (he can stand it, but it drains a lot of his energy)

Family: his parents are divorced, and he lives with his dad. His mom lives in Miami, Florida with his younger sister, step-dad, and step brothers.

Dream: to somehow become a published author

Jasper Clements

Black Ranger

Power: clouds

Falcon zord

Age: 16

Description: short dirty blonde hair; brown eyes; strong build; 5'10''

Personality: Jasper is a very smart boy who has big dreams for his future. He comes from a poor family and is the oldest of five kids. He works part-time to help support his family at a grocery store. He also works at a karate school where he receives lessons in exchange for his work. He has been bullied a lot because his family is poor, and consequently has a low tolerance for bullies and has no problem defending himself or using violence to solve a problem. He has a good heart and good intentions though, and has been suspended from school a couple of times as a result of his fighting. Despite all that, he aims to set a good example for his younger siblings, who he is fiercely protective of. He sometimes has a tendency not to think things through and can get in trouble because of the consequences of his actions.

Likes/Dislikes: martial arts; learning; technology; fighting; playing games with his siblings; mystery novels; martial arts movies/bullies; people who don't stand up for themselves; romance stories; being treated like a kid.

Family: Jasper lives with his mom and dad and four siblings. He has three younger brothers and one sister.

Dream: to go to college and become some kind of a technological engineer

-Non Rangers/Allies-

Quinn Oliver

Tech support

Age: 15

Description: long black hair; brown eyes; 5'7''; medium build; gold wire 'Harry potter' glasses

Personality: Quinn is a tech genius who built all the morphers, zords, and rangers' entire arsenal. Her father is legendary power ranger Tommy Oliver, who constantly worries about her safety. Because if this, Quinn has never been allowed outside the house. She lives in the isolated mansion with her uncle outside of Cliffton. She is naturally athletic and brave, not unlike her father. She wants to explore the world and help people the way her dad did. She also wants to make friends with people her own age. She is full of energy, which can be a problem because of her being confined to the house.

Likes/Dislikes: reading; running; practicing martial arts; building devices/being inside; being alone

Family: her dad is Tommy Oliver, legendary power ranger. She doesn't know who her mom is and she lives with her uncle Z.

Dream: to see the world, make friends, and be a power ranger

Z Oilver

Mentor

Age: 35

Description: short black hair; blue-green eyes; 6'0''; strong build

Personality: Z is a kind, yet blunt man. He is a martial arts expert, like his brother. He has raised Quinn since she was a baby and enforces her father's rules about Quinn staying inside. However he hates to see her unhappy and wishes he could let her go out. He is also only person, besides Quinn, who knew that the Stormicon Empire would attack Cliffton and it was he who instructed her to build the morphers. He is Tommy's older brother, and knows that his brother was a power ranger in the past. Z is his nick-name, and he refuses to tell anyone want his real name is.

Likes/Dislikes: martial arts; Quinn trying to act like a normal teen; the idea that Quinn might be able to go outside someday/ disrespect; acting without thinking; people who take being a ranger

like a joke

Dream: to let Quinn go outside and someday live his own life outside the house and away from his promise to his brother

Family: he is Quinn's uncle and Tommy Oliver's older brother.


	2. Episode 1: Distant Thunder pt1 Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode I: Distant Thunder pt1

Chapter One: Calm Before the Storm

A/N: Hey guys! Ready for the first episode? Of course you are! So, to everyone who is new my stories, each episode will haver three chapters. I promise I will do my best to put up one episode a week. And I'll try to put up the cover photo—if fanfiction stops being stupid. Anyways, enjoy!

"Some are born great, others achieve greatness, and still others have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

Music drifted through the room on a smooth pattern as Leona Stevens played the song on her violin. It was one that she'd played a hundred times, but that's the way it went. Practice, practice, practice. She practiced her music almost day and night. She finished the song and smiled to herself. "I really do love this piece," she said aloud to the empty music room. She looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!"

She knelt down and put her violin back in it's case. She closed the case and made sure all her music was in order. She put the folder in her backpack and zipped it closed. She picked up her crimson blazer from where she'd draped it over a chair and pulled it on. Her school uniform consisted of a long white sleeve shirt, with a red tie and grey sweater vest. Her crimson blazer with the school's emblem fit over nicely. She put her bag on her back and picked up her violin. She made sure to turn off the light and lock the door as she exited the room. No other girl at the school had access to the music room like she did. But then again, no other girl was a natural musical prodigy like her. Where she was average in everything else, she had a gift for music.

She left the arts building and looked around. It was around four in the afternoon, so the campus of Saint Catherine's School for Girls was pretty empty. Everyone had already gone home to do homework and hang out with friends. She left the campus and headed toward the bus stop. She knew the 4:30 bus would be there soon. It was the bus she usually took between school and home. She reached the bus stop, which was only a few yards from the gates of her school and sat down on the bench. She pulled on her plaid skirt and made sure it was neat. She nodded to herself. "One must always sit like a lady," she said to herself. She had her violin and her backpack sitting on the bench next to her.

She looked up at the sky and smiled. "It's so beautiful out. Reminds me of The Ballad of Spring." She hummed and played the song on an air violin. Her humming perfectly matched the perfectly tuned pitches of her violin as if she was actually paying it. She open her eyes as she finished and saw something. Her school was located on the eastern edge of the city. All around the city there was thick woods. On the south side there was a group of cliffs. Sitting in a small plain, with only the very top visible above the trees and buildings, was Cliffton Manor. She knew the stories about the "ghost" who lived inside. There were all kinds of local lure that concerned how the ghost had died in the first place. She didn't believe any of them though. She started tapping her fingers against her legs.

"All those silly stories are just that. Stories. They're abominations and go against the teachings of the Lord. Ghosts and spirits. Silly." She looked back at the roof of the building. "I bet that house is empty. Always has been. Always will be. No one can possibly be living there."

-Thunder Strike-

Irritation coursed through Chris as she searched for her dance shoes. Her bedroom was in it's usual state of calm and order. She stood up and looked around. All of her school binders, including her planning binders for student council, were all piled on her desk. She sighed in irritation. "Come on Chris," she berated herself. "Really?" She grabbed her hair brush and a blue hair-tie. She went to her mirror and started to put her hair up. "First I have ballet," she said to herself as she put her blonde hair up in a ponytail. "Then tap. Then hip-hop. Then I have time to eat my dinner. Then I have to go for a run and workout at the gym. Then homework. And finally my student council paperwork."

She nodded to herself confidently as she finished doing her hair. She turned back around and her watchful eyes scanned her room. She grabbed her blue dance bag and made sure her shoes weren't in there. Her black tap shoes and hip hop shoes were there. It was her ballet slippers that had decided to make a disappearing act. She sighed in frustration and went over to her dresser. She looked in her drawer that was dedicated completely her dance clothes. As she pulled out her tights and leotard she saw her light blue ballet slippers sitting in the drawer. "How they got in here," Chris sighed, shaking her head as she grabbed them. "I'll never know." She put her slippers in her bag and started to change into her dance clothes.

Once she was in her leotard and tights she put her sweats in over them. "I need to remember to keep everything where it belongs," she said to herself. She sat down on the edge of her bed and put her converse on. "I don't have time to be searching for things all the time." She grabbed her dance bag and slung it on her shoulder. As she left her room, her phone went off. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Yes Christopher?"

"Hey Chris," her older brother greeted. "What's up?"

"On my way to dance class."

"On Friday?! Why don't you hang out with friends or something?"

"All my friends are in dance. And in student council."

"Yeah, sure they are."

"Says the guy who makes friends with any loser who happens to feed you," Chris joked as she left the house. She locked the door behind her.

"Hey, they might be losers, but at least I'm getting free food out of the deal."

"You're the real loser."

"You'll see when you get to college Sis."

"Whatever. I have to go."

"Yeah me to. But I'm serious Chris. Make some new friends. You'd be surprised what new people can teach you."

"Yeah, whatever." She hung up and put her earbuds in her iPod. She put them in her ears. She happened to glance up as she turned her music on. She caught a glimpse of the mysterious Cliffton Manor and smirked. "Maybe I'll make friends with the ghost in the manor." She laughed and turned her music up as she headed for her dance studio.

-Thunder Strike-

"Hey!" a man shouted as he came outside. "You kids get away from my car!"

"Haha! Suck it old man!" Austin Copeland yelled as he threw another egg at the man's car. He tossed the now empty carton to the side. He ran down the street laughing, his friends by his side.

"That was awesome!" Ryan laughed as they ran. The three of them stopped near a low wall and grinned at each other.

"The look on that old geezer's face was priceless," Michael agreed. "You don't think he'll rat us out, do you?"

"So what if he does?" Austin asked as he leaned against the wall. He put his elbows up on it. "I'm not afraid of getting busted."

"Are you sure? Didn't you just get off parole?"

"What better way to celebrate than to get arrested again?" His phone went off and he checked it. "Ugh! My brother. You know, ever since he's been home on break, he's been on my ass 24/7."

"This is the one who goes to some impressive military college right?" Ryan asked.

"I only have one brother dipshit. He's always getting on me about: you need to straighten up. You need to stop getting into trouble. Stop making life harder for mom and dad. As if those two ever gave a fuck about me."

"You said it."

Austin's phone went off again and he groaned. "I have to go."

"See you later dude."

"Yeah later."

"Hey!" Ryan yelled after him. "Don't let the Manor Ghost get you!"

Austin rolled his eyes. He glanced up and over at the Cliffton Manor. "Yeah right. I'm not scared of any ghost." His phone went off with another text from his brother and he rolled his eyes. "I'm coming. I'm coming."

-Thunder Strike-

"Andy! Andy where are you?!"

"Right here Dad," Andrew Thatcher answered from the living room.

"I thought you were going to hang out with friends."

"I did already. For like an hour."

"That's it?"

Andy sighed from where he was lounged out on the couch. "Yes Dad, and it was a very exhausting hour."

His dad sighed. He didn't always understand why his son acted the way he did, but he also figured he shouldn't be the one to stop him. "Alright. Well, don't forget to call your mother."

"Why?"

"Because she wants to talk to you."

"So she can call me a traitor again? Or tell me that I'm a broken human? Fat chance."

"Andrew..."

"Come on Dad. You know she doesn't get me."

"Yes, but she is your mother. Talking to her once a month won't hurt you."

"Fine."

"Ok. I have errands to run. Why don't you take a walk and bye some fresh air."

Andy sighed. "Alright."

"Good Boy. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Yeah yeah." As his dad left, Andy shut down his laptop and closed it. He sat up and stretched a little. He'd been lounging as a couch potato for the better part of an hour. He stood up and went to go put his laptop in his room. While he was in there he plugged it in to charge and grabbed his white hoodie. He pulled it on and put on his sneakers as well. "I could use a walk," he decided as he grabbed his phone and earbuds. "Some music and fresh air to cure the writers block." He grabbed his phone off a side table in the living room and exited the apartment he shared with his dad. He walked down the hall then down the stairs. Most people would take the elevator, which is why he took the stairs. He was still feeling a little drained after being athletic with his friends after-school.

As he stepped out into the warm California air, he thought he saw something strange. Today had been beautiful without a single cloud in the sky. As he looked at the sky now though, he thought he saw some dark clouds on the horizon. "Probably just a storm," he decided. After all, Cliffton was located on a small island off the Cali coast so storms out at sea weren't uncommon. He put his earbuds in and looked at the sky once more. He happened to glance towards the south side of the city and saw the top of Cliffton Manor. "Maybe the ghost is summoning more evil spirits." He laughed then nodded as he started walking. "Evil spirits from another dimension. I like that." He took out his notepad and scribbled down on it quickly. "This walking thing really is good for creative mind."

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper Clements sighed as he waited for his brothers. He saw them coming and called to them. "Brian! Gabe! Let's go!"

"Coming!" Brian called back. He and Gabe ran to their older brother and smiled. "Hey Jas!"

"Hey. Come on. I need to drop you two off at home so I can head to work."

Gabe held Jasper's hand and jumped up and down. "Jasper! Jasper!"

"What?" Jasper asked, reminding himself to remain patient with his 8-year-old brother.

"I drew a picture today!"

"What was it of?"

"You!"

"Me?"

"Yup! You was at your karate tournament! And you gots the medal!"

"I got the medal," Jasper corrected him gently. He looked at Brian. "How was your day?"

"Fine. Some jerk stole my phone."

"Did you get it back? Mom and Dad can't afford to replace it you know."

"I know, I got it back just fine."

"Jasper!" Gabe said, pulling on his sleeve.

"Did you teach them a lesson?" Jasper continued, ignoring his younger brother. "They won't leave you alone unless you make them."

"Jasper!" Gabe said again.

"Mom said I'm going to be grounded if I get suspended. And the school says that if we get into fights, we will get suspended."

Jasper rolled his eyes. "Brian, you need to defend yourself. Otherwise they'll never leave you alone."

"Jasper!" Gabe pulled on his sleeve again.

"What Gabe?!"

"Is it supposed to rain?" Japser looked where his younger brother was pointing and frowned. There were dark clouds starting to appear over the city.

"I don't think so," he replied carefully.

"Then why are the clouds angry?"

"Something about those clouds are giving me the creeps," Brian said. He looked up and nodded. "Like Cliffton Manor."

Jasper rolled his eyes. "You don't really believe all those stories, do you?"

"Maybe I do."

"Come on, let's get going. I need to get to work."

"When you get home can I watch you practice your karate?"

"Sure."

"Yay!"

Jasper chuckled. "Come on guys."

-Thunder Strike-

A decent ways outside the city, hidden away in the thick woods of the island, sits Cliffton Manor. Inside though, was not a ghost, spirit, or demon. Inside the manor one of the house's two inhabitants was trying to keep herself occupied. Quinn Oliver laughed as she ran then slid across the hall. The hardwood floors were perfect for sliding on in her socks. She used her arms to stop herself she she came to a wall. She turned and ran back down the long hallway. She heard footsteps on the stairs and someone sighed.

"Really Quinn? Aren't you getting a little old for these games?" Z asked her.

Quinn turned around and smiled, pushing her glasses up on her face. "What? I was feeling energetic."

"You're always feeling energetic." Quinn shrugged. "Why don't you go do some school work? Or something downstairs."

Quinn sighed and flopped herself down on one of the cushioned benches in front of the window that faced the front of the house. "I've done school work already. And there isn't a lot to work on downstairs."

"No new gadgets you want to build?"

"Well maybe I would feel more inspired if I could go outside for a little bit."

"Quinn," Z sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Please Z!" Quinn begged, jumping to her feet. "Just for a few minutes!"

"You know why you can't go out."

"We don't have to tell him-"

"The answer is no. I promised I would-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. You promised you'd protect me and Dad is concerned about my safety."

"If you know the answer than why did you ask?"

Quinn sighed. "I was hoping you'd change your mind. Fine. I'll go practice martial arts in the dojo for a while."

"Ok. Maybe I'll join you in a little bit."

Quinn wanted to tell him not to bother. She was mad that he wouldn't let her go outside. But she could never bring herself to be mad at Z. Not for long anyways. He was the only person who she interacted with. "Alright," was all she said as she went to her room. She shut the door behind her and changed into more comfortable clothes. She glanced outside and frowned. She walked over to the large bay windows on one side of her room and stepped out on to her balcony. She had a room with a small balcony that had enough room for two chairs on it. It was the only way she ever got to enjoy fresh air.

She stood on the balcony and frowned. There whips of dark clouds in sky. "That's strange," she frowned. "It's supposed to be nice today. That's why I left the window open." She decided that she'd mention it to Z, but as long as no censors we're going off, she knew they were safe. "What if though..." Deciding to take a detour, she finished getting changed and headed for the lowest level of the house. The house had four floors, not including the basement level. She punched in the security code to open the basement door and went down the stairs. It definitely didn't look like a basement. It looked like some high tech computer lab. Which it was. She went to the main monitors and sat down. She decoded her encryption quickly and checked the censors Z had placed around the city. They were registering some strange activity.

"I don't think this is good," she muttered. She got up and put in the password to a cabinet. She opened it and checked inside real quick. "Good thing we're prepared." She closed the cabinet and it locked automatically. She went over to her computer and encrypted it once more. "We'll have to keep an eye on it." She went back up stairs, heading for the dojo on the first floor of the house.


	3. Episode 1: Distant Thunder pt1 Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode I: Distant Thunder pt1

Chapter Two: The Chaos Is Unleashed

A/N: Hey readers! I didn't have internet at home, so I had to wait to post this. Hope you're enjoying it so far! If so, continue enjoying!

"Some are born great, others achieve greatness, and still others have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

Parallel to the world that Cliffton resided in, lay a world of chaos. Everything in sight was destroyed. There charred remains of people and buildings strewn about. Above the carnage though, was a mass of black clouds. On top of these clouds stood a castle that looked like it was made of clouds. Inside, a monstrous creature sat on his throne. His body was made of dark clouds that shifted and even broke apart a little bit, only to repair itself, as he moved. His physique was fit and strong. His face was cruel and had features of being demonic. His dark gold eyes stuck out on his face as he sat in his throne.

"Emperor," another figure said, bowing. He was white all over and looked like he was made of ice. His fingers sharp and pointed like jagged icicles. His head was topped with just as jagged ice pieces. His eyes were grey and dull with long nose that stuck off his face a little bit. He held onto his spear, a weapon with an ice shaft and topped with a snowflake, as he bowed. "I am afraid that we no longer have the ability to harness chaos from these inhabitants."

"The Emperor knows that already Blizzitor," another figure said, walking into the throne room. He first bowed to the Emperor on his throne then looked at the ice demon. This monster was also made of dark clouds. His body was made up of funnels clouds almost entirely. His legs were funnel clouds that had the thick part on the bottom. His torso was like two funnel cloud shapes on top of each other so that it formed a hour glass shape. His arms had the funnel clouds with the thick part attached to his body and his fingers on the thin part. His head was was a small funnel shape with the thin part serving as his neck. His eyes were dark grey. He held a spear with a tornado shape on top. "We have already begun preparations to break through the dimensional wall."

"Has Hurricous arrived back yet?" Emperor Stormicon asked.

"No Sire," Tornidon replied. "He shall return soon though."

"Sooner than you might think." Anther figure entered the bleak room. He looked like he was made of dark grey clouds. His head spiraled out like a hurricane from a seen from above. His eyes were where a silvery-white, making them stand out on his dark face. He gripped his spear, a black shaft with a hurricane, complete with the eye in its center, on top. He bowed to the Emperor. "Sire. We are ready to break through the dimensional wall. We did not collect a lot of energy from this inferior world, but we have more than enough to get through."

"Good," Stormicon nodded. He gripped his own staff, topped with a dark cloud. "Get moving! I do not want to wait!"

"Yes Emperor!" the three replied, all bowing.

-Thunder Strike-

When the bus dropped her off, Leo started walking across the center of town. The area had six streets that met in a crazy intersection here. She was walking on the sidewalk when she noticed the street get darker. She stopped and looked around. "What in the world?" She looked up and saw something strange. Dark cloud were literally rolling in over the city; seemingly out of nowhere. She stood in place, along with pretty much everyone else now as she watched the mass getting thicker. "The rapture..." she whispered.

Up in the clouds, Stormicon stood outside his castle in the clouds. He spread his arms wide, still holding his spear in his right hand. Lightning crackled out of it and hit the clouds around him, beneath his feet. "Darklings! Go and cause chaos!"

Back on the ground, Leo gasped as tons of funnel clouds spiraled out of the mass. They touched the ground around her and she jumped. As the funnels pulled away, she found herself surrounded by strange creatures. They were made of black clouds and had glowing red eyes, but no other distinct facial features. People all around her started screaming. Leo backed up a step and one of them grabbed her arm. She reacted instinctively and swung her violin case at them. She hit one in the head, then swung her instrument back in the other direction. She hit another one in the stomach and it dissipated from the force. She backed up and two more grabbed her. She pulled, trying to get away.

"Duck!" someone yelled behind her. Leo ducked her head and a small, blue tote bad swung over her head. It hit the two creatures, making them dissipate. She turned around and found herself face-to-face with someone she'd never met, but had probably just saved her life. "You ok?" Chris asked her.

Leo nodded. "I- look out!" She reached out and pulled Chris over to her. She swung her violin at the creature and hit it in the chest. It dissipated like the rest of them. She turned around and saw Chris taking out more creatures with her bag. A group of four snuck up on her and grabbed her.

Austin was heading for his home when he heard someone yell. "Let go of me you creeps!" He stopped and looked around. He heard screaming only one street over. He frowned.

"What the hell?" he wondered. He ran down an alley and climbed a fence with ease. Once on the new street he was in a swarm of people running from the city center. He pushed against the crowd and headed for the intersection. His jaw dropped open when he saw the creatures attacking people. "What the fuck?! What are these?!" He felt one grab the back of his sweater and he growled. "Hey!" He ripped himself free and spun around, punching the creature in the face. It dissipated and he nodded. "Don't touch the merchandise." He turned around and found more of the creatures were coming towards him a group. "You fuckers want a piece of me too?" He looked around and saw a piece of metal on the ground. He picked it up and held it like a sword with two hands. "Oh yeah! This'll do." He swung at them and hit three through the chest. They dissipated into whips and he stabbed another one. This one dissipated as well and he smiled.

A small group of four were sneaking up behind him as he fought. They reached out and were about to grab him when a rock was chucked through the head of one. It soared straight through and dissipated it. The other three turned around as the rock kept going and hit Austin in the shoulder. He finished off the group and turned around. He quickly disposed of the other three and glared at the rock thrower. "What the hell Dude?!" he demanded. "You hit me with a freaking rock!"

"Sorry," Andy replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "But those...whatever they are...looked like they were about to get you."

"Hey! I can take care of myself!"

"I'm sure you can- look out!" Austin spun around, but Andy threw another rock at a creature before it could hurt him. "Like I was saying, theses things look like they work well in groups. And they're sneaky."

"Well- whoa!" Austin grabbed Andy and pulled him forward. He swung his piece of metal down and hit another creature win the head. He let go of the other boy. "Whatever these things are, they're fucking creepy."

"Tell me about it." Andy reached down and grabbed more rocks. He threw it at the creatures as they advanced on the two boys. Austin stood back-to-back with him; holding his make-shift weapon in front of him. He used it to dissipate any creatures that managed to too close. He happens to glance to the right and saw two girls fighting as well. _Hm. We're not the only ones trying to stay alive here._

Meanwhile, Jasper stopped when he heard people screaming. He saw the swarm of people running from the center of the city and frowned. "What the heck?" He let go of Gabe's hand. "Brian, take Gabe and go."

"Go where?" Brian asked as he took his younger brother's hand.

"Home!" Jasper ran in the opposite direction of the crowd. As he got to the center he was floored by what he saw. People were trying to get away from some kind of creatures that looked like they were made of clouds. He saw two boys fighting almost completely on the other side. Closer to him, he saw two girls fighting. He was actually shocked because one of them appeared to be trying to fight with a violin case. He frowned. "This is so w-Ah!" He reacted to the creatures grabbing him instantly. He flipped one over and it dissipated as it hit the ground. He turned ad punched the other one in the face. Now free, he saw that a group of about five was sneaking up on the two girls. "Hey!" Jasper shouted, running towards them. "Look out!" He kicked one and it dissipated. He jumped back as they swung their arms at him. Some kind of dark vapor trailed in their midst. He punched another and swung down, tripping two more. He took out the last one in that group and turned to the girls. "You two ok?"

The one with the violin case was about to answer him, but the other one, a blonde girl, answered first. "Look out!" She swung her bag by its strap and hit another one.

"Whoa! Nice aim."

"Thanks." The three of them turned and stood back-to-back as they fought the creatures that seemed to keep coming.

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn was in the dojo when she heard the alarms. She stopped and her eyes widened. Z looked at her they shared a quick look. She took off running for the basement; Z right on her heels. She typed in the code to get downstairs without hesitation and took the stairs two at a time. She bolted to her computers. The screens were black with 'Attack' flashing in red letters. She sat down and undid the encryption. She pulled up a feed from the traffic cameras around the city. "The sensors have something."

"Where?" Z asked, leaning over her.

"The city center." Quinn opened the feed and gasped. "They're here."

Z nodded. They saw the creatures attacking people. Five people to be exact. "Why are there only five people here? Logically, they should've attacked where there'd be more people."

"There's abandoned cars and bags," Quinn observed. "I bet everyone else ran away."

"Except them? Why wouldn't they run?"

Quinn smiled. She looked up at her uncle. "I choose them."

"What?"

"To fight. I choose them."

"Them? Quinn, it looks like only one of them actually knows how to fight."

"They can learn how to fight you know."

"I know that. Are you sure? They don't look like ranger material."

"Them," Quinn told him firmly. "I choose them."

Z sighed, but Quinn had built the morphers. He trusted her judgement on who should use them. "Alright." He frowned. "Looks like Stormicon sent reinforcements."

Quinn looked back at the screens and nodded. More demons had appeared and were attacking the five teens. "They need help."

"I'll go!"

"But Z-"

"Quinn, let's not have this argument now. You're staying here and that's final."

Quinn sighed. "Fine. Here." She got up and handed him something that was lying on one of her work tables. "It's just a prototype, but it's good for a few shots."

"Ok." He took the blaster and Quinn went back to her computers.

"Good luck Z." She typed in a command and Z was teleported out of the house.

-Thunder Strike-

Austin was surprised when more of the creatures appeared. The funnels clouds kept spiraling down from the mass above them. "What is going on?! Where are they coming from?!"

Andy reached down for more rocks, only to discover that there were no more. "Uh oh. I'm out of ammo- Ah!" The creatures grabbed his arms and threw him. They were surprisingly strong. He fell on the ground and scraped his hands. He winced and grunted as something fell on top of him. "What the heck?!"

"It's not my freaking fault," Austin said as he roll off Andy. He got kicked in the side and grunted. "You dickheads are dead-Ah!"

Leo fell back into Chris as the monster hit her. Chris caught her a little, but the two of them were knocked down. Jasper tried to get to them, but the creatures were surrounding him. A group of them held their hands out and wind hit Jasper. He stumbled back and the wind picked him up. It carried him a few yards then dropped him. He fell on top of two other boys and groaned. "Oh...that hurt..."

"You're hurt?" one of the teens below him asked. "We're the ones who had someone drop down on top of us!"

Jasper was about to answer when two more people went flying through the air. One of the girls' violin case hit him in the face. "Ow."

Leo groaned and and gasped. "Oh my...!" She quickly crawled off the boys.

Chris picked herself up and held out her hand for Leo. "Great. Now I'm sore." The boys all stood up. The group stood back-to-back, watching as the creatures advanced towards them.

"Something tells me make-shift weapons and rocks might not do it," Andy said. His white t-shirt was dirty and ripped now.

"There's so many," Leo whispered.

"I don't suppose any of you know how to fight?" Jasper asked.

"Do I look like the fucking karate kid?" Austin asked him.

A person suddenly appeared near them in a flash of light. He saw them and ran to them. He raised what looked like a toy gun and pointed it at the creatures. It shot bursts of grey light at them. They hit the creatures and dissipated them. He managed to clear a path to them and stood right next to Leo. "Grab onto me!" He told them as he shot more creatures. "Quick!"

Andy reached forward and grabbed the back of the man's shirt. Austin gave him a look of disbelief. "You're doing what he says?!"

"Well it looks like he knows what's going on! Plus he has a weapon."

"Boys!" Chris snapped. "Stop arguing and grab on!"

Austin shook his head. "Bossy much?" He grabbed the man's short as well. Leo grabbed his arm and Chris grabbed his shirt was well. Jasper reached up and grabbed his shirt by his shoulder.

The man nodded. He pressed a button on his watch and lights appeared around the group. Leo's eyes widened as she saw everything get darker and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again she discovered they were no longer in the city center. She looked around. They were in a room that had four large, square tables in the center of the room. They were filled with strange looking gadgets; some on small displays and others looking only half finished. She saw a staircase leading up to another level against the far corner. She turned it the right and saw two long tables that and four computer monitors. She saw a girl sitting at a computer chair who turned around to face them. She smiled in amazement when she saw them.

"Where the hell are we?" Austin asked.

"Language much?" the man asked him. Austin gave him a look of contempt. He sighed. "Let's go upstairs. Quinn, the...equipment?"

"You got it." The girl got up and went over to a file cabinet.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Andy said. "What's going on here?! What were those?!"

"I can explain everything-" the man began.

"We can explain everything," the computer girl said, opening a drawer in the cabinet.

"We can explain everything," the man amended. "Just follow me upstairs."

He started heading towards the stairs. The five teens all looked at each other. "Well?" Jasper asked them quietly.

Leo hesitated before she said quietly, "Let's see what he has to say."

The man looked back at them from half-way up the staircase. "You coming or what?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah. We are."


	4. Episode 1: Distant Thunder pt1 Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode I: Distant Thunder pt1

Chapter Three: An Impossible Request

A/N: Hey guys! This is the end of the first epsidoe! I hope you like it! Enjoy!

"Some are born great, others achieve greatness, and still others have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

As they got up to the first floor Leo looked around in mild shock. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it was nice. They were in a large house of some kind. She looked off to the right and saw a dining room. The man lead them to the left and walked down a short hall to a living room. The floors were all shiny hardwood. She saw small drawings and paintings on the walls. She walked into the living room and looked around. It was good size. There were two tall windows on the wall opposite the doorway. On the left wall was another doorway. There were three couches all facing a coffee table on a rug. There was a big TV on the far wall in between the two windows.

"Please," the man said. "Have a seat."

Leo sat down cautiously. Chris sat next to her. Jasper sat on the other side of Chris. Austin sat down on one of the side couches and Andy sat next to him. The man sat down on the third couch. The computer girl walked in holding a box, about a foot long and four inches high, with a smaller one on top of that one.

"Alright," Austin said. "Start talking. Who the hell are you?! What the hell were those?!" Leo stared at him with wide eyes. He noticed and frowned. "You got a problem there, catholic girl?"

"Can we focus?" Chris asked him. She looked at the man, waiting for his explanation.

The man nodded. "My name Z. This is my niece Quinn-"

"Get to the creatures!" Andy said. "What were they?!"

"I will tell you, if you be patient. Anyways, those creatures are actually cloud demons."

"Demons?" Leo asked, eyes wide. "Like from...hell?"

"Um...not exactly."

"They're from another dimension," Quinn explained. "They break through dimensions in order to reach new worlds."

"Why, what's the point?" Jasper asked.

"For power," Z told them. "They live off chaos. For them, it's a form of energy."

"You guys know a lot about them."

"Not enough I'm afraid."

"How do you know so much?" Chris asked.

"That's a good point," Andy nodded. "How do we know you're not with them?"

"Why would we be?" Quinn asked him.

Andy shrugged. "You seem to know an awful lot about them."

"Yeah," Austin agreed. "How'd you get the info?"

"Someone told us," Z explained.

"Who?!"

Quinn and Z shared a look...

-Three Years Ago-

Quinn was in the library reading when she heard the explosion. She jumped to her feet, dropping it. "What in the world!" She ran to her balcony and looked out. "Z!" she yelled. "Z! Look-"

"Quinn!" Z gasped. He ran into her room and pulled her inside. He shut the bay windows and latched them. "Stay in here," he told her, closing the curtains.

"Z, there's a man in the yard!"

"I see that Quinn!" he told her. "I'll handle this, just stay in your room."

"Are you going to call Dad?" she asked him as he left.

"Not yet. Just stay! Stay here, and be quiet!" Z shut the door and Quinn heard it lock. She sighed and ran to the bat windows. She pushed one of the curtains aside and unlatched them. She knelt down on the balcony and peeked over the ledge. She watched as Z approached the obviously injured man who'd just appeared in the walled-in-yard.

-Thunder Strike-

"It's not really important," Z told the teens. "We met someone from another dimension. His world had been destroyed by the demons."

"Do these demons have a name?" Chris asked.

"They're called the Chaotic Storm Empire. They're led by Emperor Stormicon. Those things you fought were his foot soldiers, Darklings."

"Darklings? Demons? Other dimensions?" Jasper asked. "Ok...this is..."

"Weird?" Andy suggested. "Because it totally is."

"I know this is a lot to take in," Z acknowledged. "But we need you to keep an open mind."

"Why?" Chris asked.

Z sighed and looked at Quinn, nodded at him encouragingly. "Have your five ever heard of power rangers?"

"Yes," Jasper nodded. "I have."

"Who hasn't?" Andy asked.

"Um...me," Leo said. "I've...I've never heard of them."

"They're like super heroes," Chris explained.

"They run around in bright spandex and fight monsters," Austin told her. "That's about the gist of it."

"It's not actually spandex," Quinn told him.

"How do you know?!"

"We're getting off topic here," Z said. "Whether you've heard of the power rangers or not..." He sighed. "We need you to become them."

"Become...power rangers?" Andy asked, as if for confirmation.

"Yes."

"You're...you're serious?" Leo asked him. "Us?!"

"Yes you. All five of you. What'd you say?"

"I say whatever you're on, I'd like to know where I can get some," Austin told him.

"I think what my...friend...means is-" Andy began.

"You sound bat-shit crazy. Or high. Actually, a combination of the two."

"This is serious," Z said. "Those demons will destroy our world! It's what they do! They destroy a world and create chaos until there's nothing left!"

"Then why don't you do something?!" Chris asked him.

"We're doing something right now!"

"But why us?!"

"We know it's a lot," Quinn said. "But we also know you guys can do it. You fought the Darlkings earlier. You just need to do it more. But this time you'll have weapons. And we can train you to fight better."

"Please," Z said. "We need you guys. The world needs you. You're the only hope we have."

"Well when you put it like that," Jasper muttered. He sighed. "Fine."

"What?"

"I said fine. You want me to be a super hero, I'll be a super hero. Anything to protect my family."

"Me too," Chris nodded. "I saw the way those things attacked people. Someone has to stop them. And I do like living here."

"I'm in," Andy agreed. "I mean...I have always been fascinated by power rangers. They're pretty cool."

"Count me in then," Austin sighed. "I'm not going to be the lame-ass who says no."

"I suppose we can accept that," Z said. He looked at Leo. "What about you?"

The girl played with her skirt a little bit. "I don't know. I mean...I'm not really fond of violence. And...I'm not really brave or good at fighting."

"I saw you fighting earlier," Quinn told her. Leo looked at her. "You took down those monsters with your violin. It was amazing. You'd be a great ranger. I know it."

Leo could see the sincerity in Quinn's eyes. This other girl truly beloved that she would be good for this. "Well...uh...ok. I-I guess so."

"Excellent," Z nodded.

"Yay!" Quinn cheered. She stood up and opened up the bigger of the two boxes. "These are your morphers."

"Morphers?" Andy asked.

Quinn nodded as she handed one to each person. Leo took hers and studied it. It was just a watch with red leather strap. There was a rain storm in the background on her watch face. She looked at Chris and saw that hers had a blue strap. She put her morpher on carefully. "To morph, just turn the dial around the watch to the left and say 'Thunder Strike, storm warning'. Then push on the watch itself."

"I approve of the coloring," Austin noted as he strapped on his own green one.

"And these," Quinn opened up the next box and pulled out colored balls. "Are your Zords."

"Zords?" Andy asked in confusion.

"Zords," Quinn confirmed as she handed one that matched each person's watch. "Throw them in the air, and turn the watch dial to right while saying, 'Thunder zord activate'."

"Why do we need them?" Japser asked her, looking at his. They were only an inch across and, in his opinon, not very impressive.

"In case your opponent comes back 500 times his original size."

"Say what?!"

"You'll see."

Jasper shared a look of disbelief with Chris. "Is she serious?!" he whispered to her. Chris shrugged.

"And finally," Quinn smiled. "These, are your zord and weapon tags."

"I think you mean dog tags," Chris told her. Leo nodded. The items dangling from Quinn's hand were military dog tags. They were on a bronze chain and had two tags that match the color coding system of each person.

"No, zord and weapon tags." Quinn said as she passed them out. "These will enable you to use your zords and upgrade your weapons to a more powerful form."

"They look pretty sick too," Austin nodded.

"Uh...sure..."

Leo put her tags around her neck. She noticed that when she pressed her zord it was attracted to the chain. She put it against the bronze chain and let go. The zord stayed there next to her tags. She looked at Quinn. "Is it supposed to do that?"

"Yes," Quinn nodded. "They're supposed to do that."

"At least we won't lose them," Andy nodded.

Z was about to say something when a high pitched alarm sounded through the house. Everyone but Z and Quinn covered their ears. "What the fuck is that?!" Austin demanded.

"The alarms!" Quinn told them. "Follow me!"

"Why is there an alarm going off?!" Chris asked as they followed her back to the basement.

"The sensors have caught a demon attack," she explained. "Time for you guys to test your new powers in battle."

As they got downstairs she practically flew to her computer. She typed a few quick keystrokes in. "Still in the city center." She spun around to look at them. "You guys ready?"

"As ready as one can be," Leo answered.

Quinn smiled. "Then good luck." She typed something and they teleported away.

-Thunder Strike-

When she could see again, Leo discovered they were in the city center. They turned around and saw three freakish demons with tall staffs. They had an army of Darklings with them. "Hey demons!" Leo called, fear building inside her.

"Who are you, pathetic humans?" Blizzitor asked.

"We're power rangers!" Austin called back. "And we're going to kick your ass!"

"I doubt it!" Hurricous sneered.

"Ready?" Leo asked her fellow rangers. They nodded. They all held their watches out at an angle in front of their bodies. They turned the sides of the morphers. Leo saw a hologram of rain drops floating in a red light above hers. Chris had wind currents in a blue light; Austin had lightning in green light; Andy had snow flakes in white light; and Jasper had clouds in black light.

"THUNDER STRIKE! STORM WARNING!" They raised their morphers up by their chins and pushed the watch heads in. Leo felt energy and power rush through her as red light ran over her body from her wrist. Similar lights flashed up the others' wrists as well. When the light died down they looked at each other.

Leo had a red helmet and suit; that honestly looked liked it was made of spandex. She had a cloud shape on her chest in black and a line on ether side of her tors going down to her waist. Her torso was decorated with rain drops outlined in black. She had black gloves and boots. One her waist was a belt that was the same color as her tag chains. Hanging off her left side was a gun of some kind in a holster. She saw her morpher still on her right wrist and her tags were hanging around her neck. Her helmet had a black, oval-shaped visor and bronze colored grill underneath it. When she felt it she discovered it was an indent, with raised thin lines. Her suit also had a short skirt on it. She looked at Chris and discovered her suit had a skirt too.

Chris's suit looked just like Leo's, expect her's was blue and black. She also had the outline of wind currents on her torso. Jasper had a black and white suit, but without a skirt. His torso had clouds outlined in white on it. Austin had a green and black suit with green lightning bolts outlined on his torso. Andy had a white suit, with no skirt, and his torso had the outline of snowflakes on it.

"We look so cool!" Andy smiled.

"Congratulations, Rangers," Quinn said. "You've successfully completed your first morph."

"Whoa, Quinn?! Is that you?!" Jasper asked.

"Yes. I have a communication line with you through your helmets."

"Sweet!"

The rangers all faced the demons. They laughed. "You humans are no match for our armies!" Blizzitor said. He pointed his spear at them. "Get them!"

Leo hesitated for a second, causing the others to run out ahead of her. She took a deep breath then followed them. She soon found herself surrounded by Darklings. She took out her blaster out and started shooting them. Her weapon was about the size of a gun. It was all white, except for a red sripe that ran it's length. It was a simple handle and trigger, with a thin barrel. There was a part near the top that suck out a little and had a slot big enough to fit one of her tags in it. It felt so alien to have a weapon in her hands, but it was more effective than her violin. She spun and shot more as they attacked her. They grabbed her arms and she pulled away. She shot more of them. She wasn't a terribly good shot, but she was hitting about half of them on the first try. A small group of them raised their arms and she was blown back. "Oof!" She got up and raised her blaster.

Chris was ducking and spinning to avoid demons left and right. She shot them with her blue blast with a bit more accuracy than Leo. She spun around and whacked one right through the head with her blaster. She flipped over them as they attempted to blow her back. She landed safely on the other side and shot them in the back with blue blasts. She smiled. This was so much more satisfying than hitting them with her dance bag. They tried to grab her, but she shot all three, one after the other, in the head. She had to move fast. There were more of them than her, and they kept trying to overwhelm her. She jumped back and looked over them. "You guys are going down!"

Austin pulled out his blaster and smiled. "I've always wanted a gun!" He raised it and shot green blasts at them. He swung his arm and hit several of them in the head. They dissipated, but more took their place. They raised their arms at him and a gust of wind picked the green ranger up. He was thrown back several yards. He landed hard and moaned. "Still hurts." He grabbed his blaster and rolled onto his back. He started firing at them. The Darklings were dissipated as he shit them. His aim was pretty good as he shot each of them. He got to his feet and ran at them. He fired again, taking out three more. Two of them tired to grab him and he punched at them wildly. He landed blows on them and they dissipated. He nodded to himself and smiled. "You guys are screwed!"

Blizzitor shook his head. "They're beating them! How can they be beating them?!"

"They're just humans," Tornidon said. "They can't win."

"Well they're certainly trying," Hurricous muttered.

Jasper was blown backwards and hit the ground. He got to his feet quickly and raised his blaster. He shot the Darklings as they advanced on him. They went down one-by-one. He ran at the and kicked one in the head. He punched another and felt two grab his arm. He twisted around and shot them in the head. He tripped several of them and flipped over them as they feel. As soon as he landed he turned and fired upon them. He turned around, only to find even more. He swung at more of them and hit them with his blaster. He smiled and jumped. He kicked another one and as he came down he shot two more. He swung around and hit three more through the chest. "These guys are too easy!"

Andy jumped to the side as he avoided being thrown backwards. The Darklings grabbed at him in a group and locked onto his arms. He wiggled and pulled, trying to get away. He threw himself at the ground and they let go in surprise. He summersaulted away and tried to face them. He fired his blaster in rapid succession across their line. He ran at them and kept firing. They dissipated as he hit each of them. His aim wasn't totally terrible, but he did miss a few Darklings he was aiming for. He swung his blaster and hit some of them, making them dissipate. He fired again. The demons were destroyed and he looked around. The other rangers were starting to thin out the throng.

"I think we need to re-group," Blizzor said.

Hurricous and Tronidon nodded. "Let's," the latter agreed.

As rangers finished off the Darklings and head heard for the three. They each raised their spears and funnels clouds came down. They encased the three demons and lifted them away. The rangers looked around.

"Where'd they go?" Leo asked.

"I think they're gone," Chris said.

"Rangers," Quinn said inside their helmets. "The other three have retreated. I'm teleporting you back now."

"Ok," Leo nodded. The world blurred again and they were transported back.

-Thunder Strike-

Once they were in the safety of the house, they de-morphed. "Whoa!" Andy smiled. "That was a rush!"

"That was amazing!" Jasper laughed. He and Andy high-fived.

"That was just the beginning," Z told them. "The Chaotic Storm Empire won't stop for anything. Stormicon is ruthless to achieve his ends."

Quinn nodded. "From what we've heard, he's got an army of more powerful demons to throw at us."

"Man, this hero thing is hard," Austin whined. "At least we can shoot them."

"Yes," Z answered dryly, giving the green ranger a look. He's wasn't the only one.

"There's more to this than shooting things...um..." Chris began.

"What?" Austin asked.

"I don't know you're name, idiot. Or can I just call you that?"

"Name's Austin, Princess."

"Don't call me Princess. My name is Christella. Call me Chris."

"I'm Jasper!" Jasper put in, trying to diffuse the tension. "In case anyone cares."

"Andrew," Andy said. "But I mostly go by Andy."

"Leona," Leo all but whispered. Then she said louder. "But...uh...some-a few people call me Leo."

"Welcome to Cliffton Manor, Andy, Jasper, Austin, Chris, and Leo," Z greeted. "And welcome to being a power ranger."

Leo glanced at Quinn, who beamed at her. _This is going to be an interesting time._

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: the rangers learn more about their new roles as heroes and start to have doubts if they're up for the challenge.


	5. Episode 2: Distant Thunder pt2 Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode II: Distant Thunder pt2

Chapter One: An Important Decision

A/N: Hey guys! I'm on break this week! Yay! Hope you like the second chapter!

"Some are born great, others achieve greatness, and still others have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

Leo was teleported home a block from her house. She looked at her uniform and made sure it wasn't too dirty. She walked down the down the street towards her house. Her heart was still pounding in her chest. She was a little on edge from the battle earlier. _That was only the beginning,_ she reminded herself. _There'll be more to come in the future. _She reached her house and took a deep breath. She walked up the steps and let herself in. "Mom?" she called. "Dad?"

"In here Leona," her mother replied. She smiled at her daughter as she walked into the living room. "Hi Sweetie."

"Hi Mom." Leo have her mother a kiss. "Where's dad?"

"He's around here somewhere. How were your rehearsals today?"

"Productive. I've made remarkable progress on several pieces this week alone," Leo said as she sat down on the couch next to her mother.

"That's wonderful dear!" She hugged her with one arm.

Leo took a deep breath and reached for her bag. "I...uh...I received this today." She took an envelope with an impressive looking, yet fake, seal on it. Her mother took the envelope and opened it. She removed the letter and started reading it. Leo sat tensely as she watched her.

-Two Hours Ago-

"Now, Rangers," Z said, as they came down off their after-battle high, "we need to talk about something important."

"What?" Chris asked.

"You five have to stay here."

"Right now?" Andy asked.

"Now. Tomorrow. Next week. Until the Chaotic Storm Empire is gone."

"Excuse me?"

"He means you guys are going to be staying here!" Quinn told them excitedly.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Austin yelled. "You mean we have to live here?!"

"Indoors voices," Z told him sternly. "And yes, you do."

"No offense," Andy began. "But are you crazy?!"

"No, I'm cautious. In case you guys didn't notice, the island isn't that big. We can't have people finding out about your identities."

"It's still a pretty good sized city," Chris told him.

Z sighed. "I know that. But just being around your families, you put them in danger. It may be inevitable that Stormicon and his demons figure out your identities. By being with your loved ones, you place them in enormous danger."

This made the five of them quiet. It hadn't crossed their minds that they were putting their families in danger. Eventually, Leo was the one who spoke up, quietly. "It would be selfish of us to stay with our families, knowing we are putting them in danger."

There was various nodding. "She's right," Jasper agreed. "She's right."

"But...if no one can know about our identities, how do we explain this to our parents?" Andy asked.

"I can take care of that," Quinn said, handing each of them an envelope.

-Thunder Strike-

Chris stood in her room, looking around. She sighed as she grabbed a full sized duffel bag out of her closet. "Suppose I'd better start packing." She put her bag on her bed and went over to her dresser. She knelt down and opened up the first drawer. She started to pull clothes out slowly. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She put some clothes into her bag and for when she looked up. There were two shelves on her bookcase completely dedicated to her dance awards. Ribbons, medals, certificates, and trophies were arranged neatly on the shelf. She felt a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. She at on her bed and brought her morpher up to her mouth. "Quinn?" she said hesitantly, pushing a button on the side.

"Yeah Chris?!" Quinn replied excitedly. "Are you done packing already? Are you ready to come here?!"

"Um...no," Chris said carefully. _Wow this girl is excited._ "I wanted to talk to Leo. Can you tell me where she lives?"

"Yeah sure!" Chris waited for a minute. "She lives at 24 Elmway Street."

"Ok thanks!" She let the button go and stood up. "I need to talk to someone. She seems like a good person to choose."

-Thunder Strike-

"Leona!"

Leo stopped the song she was playing on her keyboard and stood up. "Coming!" she went downstairs and blinked when she saw Chris. "Oh. Hi Chris."

"Hey," Chris waved. "I was just...in the neighborhood."

"Uh Mom, is it ok if Chris comes upstairs?"

"Sure," Leo's mom said.

"Great. Come on up."

Chris followed Leo upstairs to her room. She marveled at how put together and...nice Leo's house was. You'd never be able to tell there was a teenager living here. They turned the corner at the landing and walked into Leo's room. "Nice place."

"Thank you," Leo said, a little hesitantly.

"Do you have enough instruments?" Chris teased. Leo's room was full of musical instruments, and music in general. She had a keyboard set up the windows. She had a clarinet, flute, saxophone, and guitar on stands. Propped up on the wall next to these was her violin in its case. Chris wandered over to the bookshelf and looked at the music books. "Wow. You must have...a thousand of these."

"Two thousand, three hundred, and fifty-six," Leo answered. "More or less."

Chris laughed a little and turned to look at her. "Wow. You really like music. I suspected as much, which is why I came to see you."

"I don't understand."

"Are you like...are you...ok with giving up all this," she gestured. "You know?"

"Am I having doubts about being a ranger? Yes."

"Really?"

Leo nodded and stood up from where she'd been sitting on her keyboard bench. "It's scary. The idea of leaving home and having to risk our lives to fight those demons."

"I can't imagine life without dance."

"I noticed that you looked like a dancer."

"Dance is my life. Has been for years. You understand, right?"

"Of course. I've been playing music since the age of one."

I- one? What did you play?!"

"I learned to play "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies" by ear."

Chris looked at her for a minute before continuing. "Ok then. But still-"

"Well, who says you can't dance there? Cliffton Manor looks big enough."

"It's not just that. I have so many commitments in life. How can I give those up?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't know."

Chris sighed. "I hope the boys are having as many doubts as we are."

"They seemed pretty confident to me."

"Well then we need to get it together. Cause I don't want to seem weak by comparison."

"Chris, what if we can't be rangers? What if we're not good enough?"

"I don't know Leo. I just don't know."

-Thunder Strike-

Austin got teleported near Andy and Jasper. Before they could go he grabbed the backs of their shirts. "Hold it there hot shots."

"What?" Jasper asked. "Some of us need to get home."

"Why was I the only one voicing a lot of concern about this?!"

"Something tells me you're really vocal about a lot of things."

Austin gave him a look. "You know what I mean! Are you, or aren't you guys nervous about this whole thing?!"

"Nervous?" Andy asked. "I'm terrified. I mean, what was I thinking?! I'm no superhero! I like to write about them, but that doesn't mean I can be one!"

"At least you're honest. Jasper?"

Jasper crossed his arms. "Yeah I'm scared ok. These...cloud demons are obviously not messing around. And I have a commitment to my family. We skate on pretty thin ice as it is."

"I'm pretty sure with one less kid, your family would be ok."

"Shows what you know!"

"Ok, ok," Andy interrupted quickly. "Let's not fight."

"Well regardless of what you two think," Austin said, "I think the girls are pretty dead set on doing this."

"That Leo girl even looked into it," Jasper agreed. "And she seems kind of hesitant. You know?"

"Yo, that girl is freaking crazy for a catholic school girl," Austin smiled. "You did see her taking down demons with her freaking violin, right?"

"Oh yeah."

"Listen dudes, I ain't saying that this ranger thing is a bad idea, but it is pretty fucking weird."

"He has a point," Andy told Jasper. "He's language is pretty coarse, but he's right."

Jasper nodded. "I just...I have a lot of thinking to do. Can I go now?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you crazy people later."

"Me too," Andy said. "Oh man! I need to go get the milk! See ya!"

"Later Dudes!" Austin called. Though he hadn't said it, he was happy that Andy and Jasper were scared too. What they'd just agreed to was absolutely nuts; and he was having doubts. "Man, this whole thing is jank. Why me? Why me?"

-Thunder Strike-

Emperor Stormicon growled when Hurricous and Tornidon entered his throne room. "Why have you not conquered this world?!"

"Sire," Blizzitor said bowing, "We seemed to have hit a small problem."

"What kind of problem?!"

"It comes in an assortment of colors," Tornidon said. "A group of resistance fighters."

"Is that all?!" Emperor Stormicon demanded. "You've defeated warriors trying, in vain, to save their worlds! What makes these ones any different?!"

"Well, they call themselves the power rangers."

"I don't care what they're called!" Stormicon snapped, jumping to his feet. "I want them destroyed! Nothing will stand in our way! Nothing!"

"Y-yes Emperor!" all three of them stammered.

"I can assure you, Sire, we shall do everything we can to get rid of them," Hurricous told him. The three of them bowed and turned away.

"You fool!" Tornidon hissed as they walked out. "We don't have enough power to fight! Not after just breaking through the dimension wall!"

"We don't have to fight them ourselves." Hurricous lead them down to the armory. It was a wide, round room with pictures of demons t hat seemed to be painted on the shifting, cloud walls. He pointed his staff at one. "Chaotic energy, bring this demon to life!" He smiled as the clouds spiraled quickly off the wall and onto the ground. The clouds spiraled up to the demon's height, then returned to the wall. "Let's see how those humans do against a real demon."


	6. Episode 2: Distant Thunder pt2 Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode II: Distant Thunder pt2

Chapter Two: The Hesitant Heroes

A/N: And I'm still updating on schedule! What a record! Hope you like this chapter!

"Some are born great, others achieve greatness, and still others have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

Jasper was almost home when his morpher made a beeping noise. He looked around and ducked against a house. He pressed a button on the side and raised it to his mouth. "This is Jasper."

"There's an attack," Quinn said. "You need to get to Parkway Ave right now!"

"Now?!"

"Yes now!"

"Fine." Jasper sighed and went back the way he came. He saw Andy and called to him. "Andy!"

"Hey," Andy said. "Did Quinn just contact you too?"

"Sure did. Parkway Ave."

"Brilliant. One question though."

"Yeah?"

"Where is that?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "My sister hangs out near there with some of her friends." The two of them ran towards the attack. Jasper knew they were going the right way when he saw people running away. "Two in one day? These things must be desperate!"

"Is it just me," Andy began, a little out of breath, "or is no one noticing how we're going towards the demons attacking, and not away from it?!"

Jasper laughed. "They're probably too panicked! Can you blame them?!"

"You'd think they'd at least notice the crazy teenagers going towards the attack," Andy muttered. The two of them stopped and looked around. "I don't see anything."

A raindrop fell firm the sky and hit Jasper on the head. "Um...Andy?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it supposed to rain today?"

Andy looked up. There were no clouds over this particular part of the city. "Uh..."

"Look out!" someone grabbed the backs of their shirts and pulled them back. They stared at the spot that lightning had just struck; right where they'd been standing. Austin let go of them. "No need to thank me."

"We-"

"Uh guys!" Andy said. "Let's just do the morphing thing."

"Right," Austin nodded. The three of them stood in a line and held their arms out at an angle in front of them. They turned the edge of their watches to the left.

"THUNDER STRIKE! STORM WARNING!" They morphed and had to scramble away from each other as another lightning bolt tried to fry them.

"Show yourself, Demon!" Andy yelled. They jumped as someone starts laughing.

"So you're the pathetic humans who are opposing the Emperor," the demon said. It had a black body with thick arms and legs. His body was decorated with different weather symbols. Clouds, rain drops, lightning bolts, wind currents, ect. He smiled at the rangers as they re-grouped.

"That's right!" Austin yelled. "We are!"

"Well then, let me show you what you're up against." The demon raised his hands and pointed them at the Rangers. A gust of wind blew at them and picked them off their feet. They fell through the air and hit a building, before falling to the ground.

"Ow!" Andy moaned.

Jasper got to his feet quickly. He pulled out his blaster. "Come on guys! We do have weapons!"

Austin nodded. He got up then reached down and grabbed Andy by the arm. He hauled the other boy to his feet and they pulled out their weapons. "Where are the girls?!" Austin asked as they shot at the demon. He simply threw lightning at the blasts and they absorbed the impact. He flicked his wrists and water droplets flew at them. As the drops hit them they jumped and flinched as they seemed to explode against their suits. Andy looked behind the demon and saw Chris and Leo, already morphed coming up. The demon threw more explosive water droplets at them and the boys fell on their backs.

Leo and Chris pulled out their blasters and Chris fired. The demon turned and glared at them. "So there's more of you?"

Chris looked at Leo. "Uh Leo, you need to shoot to."

Leo looked at her blaster. "I'm not really comfortable..."

"Girls look out!" Jasper yelled a little too late.

The demon shot lightning bolts at the two. They yelled as they were hit. Chris fell and dropped her blaster. Leo fell next to her and she looked at her. "Leo! Fire!"

"Uh..."

The demon laughed. "You rangers don't seem so tough to me." He created a gust of wind that picked the two girls up and threw them into a car. Chris landed on the hood and Leo on the roof. Chris rolled off the dented hood and grabbed Leo's ankle. She pulled her off the now caved-in roof and they stood a little unsteadily.

"You're not one of those Darkling things," Chris said. She could see the boys grabbing their weapons. "Who are you?!"

"I'm Seasonous! Everything weather related is under my control!" He spun around and held his palm out at the boys. "Freeze!" Wind, snow, and ice flew at the flew at the three rangers. They put their arms up to try and block themselves. The ice hit them and had the same effect the rain drops had. They exploded against their suits and boys and fell into each other.

"So cold!" Jasper gasped. He was shaking uncontrollably from the blast.

Andy nodded. He looked at his gloves and saw frost forming on the surface. "What the heck?!"

Chris grabbed Leo's arm. "Come on! We need to help them!"

"Uh..."

The two girls didn't even have time to move before Seasonous looked at them. He raised his hands and bright light erupted from them. Chris and Leo stumbled back against the car. They raised an arm to each of their eyes, shielding them. "Hot enough for ya?!" Seasonous taunted. Leo started to sweat under her helmet. She and Chris fell on the ground as steam rolled off their suits. Chris felt like she was burning. She tired to stand, but the heat was sucking all the energy out of her. She looked over at the guys. They all had their arms wrapped around their bodies. They were shivering and their breathing was ragged. Even from a distance she could see ice creeping across their helmets. Seasonous turned to the boys.

"You three need to chill out!" He laughed. He created another powerful gust of wind that lifted them off the ground and dropped them. They de-morphed in pain as they rolled off each other.

"This is going well," Jasper commented dryly.

"Shut the fuck up," Austin told him, still a little chilled from almost freezing.

Seasonous turned to Chris and Leo. The two were tying to get to their feet. He threw more lightning bolts at them and they fell to the ground in pain. They de-morphed and groaned. "I think we need a new plan," Chris said. The boys gathered their strength and ran to the girls. Austin helped Leo to her feet while Andy helped Chris.

"Guys," Jasper said. "I think we should retreat."

"Retreat?!" Austin demanded.

"Yes. Tactical retreat. Now!"

"Yes!" Leo agreed. "Go!"

Austin shook his head as the five of them ran down the street. They ducked down an alley and hid behind a dumpster. Seasonous laughed as he watches them go. "Run! Run away little rangers!" He threw a lightning bolt at a building where it landed inside through a window. He smiled as the inside started to catch on fire. "This world will belong to Emperor Stormicon before the day is out!"

The Rangers could hear him from their hiding spot. Leo looked at the others sadly. They stared back just as dispirited. Andy was the first one to speak up. "What're we going to do?"

Leo shook her head. "I don't know. I just don't know."

-Thunder Strike-

Z sighed and shook his head. He and Quinn had been watching the fight on the monitors. "Yeah, they're ranger material all right."

Quinn made a face at him. "They've only been rangers for like two hours. Give them a break."

"Quinn, they ran away! Power rangers don't run away! Do you think your father ever ran away?!"

"First, don't expect them to be as good as Dad right off. He has years of experience. Second, we didn't really tell them how to fight a demon that's not a Darkling."

"We shouldn't need to!" He sighed and leaned on one of the worktables. "I'm sorry. But we need them to be good. We have a lot riding on this."

"I know."

-Three Years Ago-

Quinn knocked lightly on the door to the room where the man was staying. She opened it. "Sir?"

The man, older and thin with a long white beard turned his head in her direction. "Hello my dear," he smiled. His voice was so fragile it sounded like it would snap as it hit the air. "Come in."

"How are you feeling?" Quinn asked him, walking into the darkened room.

"I'm not going to be here much longer I'm afraid. It took everything I had to travel here."

"We're very grateful for your warning. We're taking precautions against the Chaotic Storm Empire as we speak."

The man nodded. "I have heard you talking with your uncle. Tell me, these warriors you intend to use, these, power rangers...are you sure they'd be able to handle the demons? They're very ruthless."

"Oh yes. The power rangers are very capable. At least they will be."

"I'm glad." He coughed and it shook his entire body. "We had warriors to protect us. They were brave until the very end."

"Really?!"

He nodded. He looked at Quinn. "Do not, under any circumstances, underestimate Stormicon. He will do whatever it takes to win. Stand behind your warriors."

Quinn nodded. "Z said I'll most likely be the one to choose them..."

"But," the man prompted.

"What if I don't choose right? What if the people I pick aren't ranger material?"

"My dear." He reached out held her hand gently. "You are very bright. I have no doubt that you will pick the right people."

"Really?"

"Yes. And remember, the right warriors will never turn away from their mission. When you need them most, I promise they will fight for you."

-Present-

Quinn sighed. "They won't fail us Z."

"How do you know?"

"I picked them for a reason."

"And what reason was that?" he asked his niece, amused.

Quinn spun in her chair and looked at him. "They didn't run. When people needed them most, when we needed to pick our rangers, they were there to fight. They are the right people for the job. I have faith in them."

"You have a lot of faith in five teenagers you've just met."

"Where would be if Uncle Jason hadn't had faith in my Dad?" She turned back to the monitors. "Give them a minute to re-group and re-focus. They can win. I know they can."

Z nodded. "You right Quinn. We need to believe in them."

She nodded back. "We don't have another choice."


	7. Episode 2: Distant Thudner pt2 Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode II: Distant Thunder pt2

Chapter Three: Fight, Power Rangers Fight

A/N: And we have the second episode done! So that was just the first two! Now we're getting into the real plot next episode! I hope you like this one!

"Some are born great, others achieve greatness, and still others have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

Not one of the Rangers said a word as they sat in silence. They had a sinking feeling in their stomachs. Leo looked down at her school uniform, now torn and dirty. She looked around at the others. Chris gave her a sad look. The other girl was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Austin had his arms crossed firm where he sat, glaring out at nothing. Andy and Jasper were sitting back-to-back, arms dangling weakly off their knees. All five of the teens listened to the rampage of the demon not far from them. Leo winced a little when she heard something crash and a rumbling sound.

"Rangers!" Seasonous called. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Austin sighed. "What're we going to do?"

Leo shook her head. "I don't know."

"Are we just going to sit here?" Jasper asked.

"What else can we do?" Andy replied. "You were at that fight. We were lucky to survive. We cousins even touch that demon."

"So now we just give up?"

"You got a better idea?"

"We can type again."

"How?" Chris asked. "We don't know anything about being rangers. Jasper, you're the only one who really knows how to fight."

They heard people screaming and looked at each other in despair. Japser lifted his head when he heard little kids screaming. They sounded like they were no older than his sister. He looked back at the entrance of the alley where they were hidden. "He's attacking kids!"

"That doesn't change the fact that we have no freaking idea what we're doing!" Austin snapped.

Leo stood up suddenly. The others looked at her in confusion. "That's true...we don't know what we're doing. However..." She paused as they heard people screaming.

Chris pushed herself to her feet. "We need to try! We can't sit by and let them hurt people!"

Andy nodded as he and Jasper stood up at the same time. "We have to protect our world."

"And our families," Jasper nodded.

Austin sighed and hauled himself to his feet. "If you losers are done now, can we go kick some ass?"

"Let's go!" Chris said. The Rangers all followed Leo as they ran back towards the demon.

-Thunder Strike-

Seasonous laughed as he watched the group of humans he'd cornered shiver as they froze. They were practically crawling over each other in their panic to try and get away. "Yes! Create chaotic energy for me!"

"Hey demon!" Chris yelled.

Seasonous turned around. "Ah! The little scaredy-cats have returned!"

"We're not running away from you anymore!" Andy yelled. He looked past the demons be smiled a little. Seasonous noticed this and turned around he saw Leo, Chris, and Jasper helping the civilians getting away.

"Hey!"

"Go!" Jasper told them. The people ran off, still shivering and teeth chattering.

Seasonous growled at them. "You rangers need to learn to stop interfering!"

Leo, Chris, and Jasper rejoined the other two. Seasonous turned and stared down the five rangers. "That's the thing," Andy smiled. "I don't think rangers stop interfering."

"In fact," Austin smiled. "I get the feeling they love to interfere with evil plans!"

"Let's morph," Leo advised them, some what timidly.

"Right," Chris nodded. "The morphing thing."

They all turned the dial on their watches to the left. "THUNDER STRIKE! STORM WARNING!" They pushed the faces of the watches in. Leo felt the power and energy fill her again. She smiled a little.

"Red rain ranger!" Leo yelled.

"Blue wind ranger!" Chris yelled.

"Green lightning ranger!" Austin shouted.

"White snow ranger!" Andy yelled.

"Black cloud ranger!" Jasper yelled.

"Clear skies are straight ahead!" They yelled in unison.

"I like it," Andy smiled. "Every superhero needs a catchphrase."

"Let's kick some evil butt," Jasper nodded.

Seasonous raised a hand to the sky. "Darklings! Descend!" A couple dozen funnel clouds came down and deposited Darklings in front of the Rangers. They took out their blasters and attack them. They dispersed through the hoard of demons and started to take care of them. Leo fired twice and hit two of them in the head. She spun and swung her arm through their heads. They dispersed and she stopped in time to shoot another one. She ducked under several arms and got up close to them. She shot them and they dissipated. A group of them snuck behind her and blasted her head over heels with wind. She landed on her back and rolled onto her stomach. She shot them at the feet and they jumped around trying to avoid her.

Chris spun and twirled as she shot the Darklings around her. She jumped up and leapt over a group of them. As she landed she turned and shot the group. As the front few dissipated the front ones raised their hands. They suddenly all dissipated as someone shot them form behind. Chris smiled and nodded to Jasper.

"Gotta watch their hands!" Jasper told her as he shot two more. He punched one in the face as it tried sneak up on him. He kicked another and shot casually at it's partner. He spun his blaster in his hand a little and held it in a vice grip. He swung his arm with a lot of force and whipped it enough the heads of three standing nearby. He jumped and flipped over them. He spun around and shot them in the back. The surviving few turned around and advanced on him. He was blown backwards by a strong gust of wind from their hands. He felt someone grab his arm and pull him out of the gust.

"Watch it!" Andy told him. He let go and raised his blaster. He shot down the Darklings and nodded. He jumped back as they swung at him. "Yes," he remarked sarcastically as he shot them. "Because I'm so afraid of clouds." He ducked and moved his head out of the way. He flipped back and pointed his blaster at their knees. He fired at them and smiled as they started to fall on their faces. As they hit the ground they dissipated into dark wisps. He was blown from behind and landed precariously on his feet. He spun around suddenly as he fell back and hit quickly. His shot was lucky and hit one of the Darklings in the head. He smiled and scrambled to his feet. He ran forward and raised his blaster again.

Austin smirked as he jumped form side-to-side. He enjoyed making it difficult for the Darklings to grab him. He raised his blaster and fired. They started to circle around him; converging in a circle. He spun on his heel and fired repeatedly. He hit every one of them and the circle was much more thinned out. He nodded and spun his blaster on his finger. "Fuck yeah!" He stopped and suddenly pointed it at another two. He fired two quick shots, then swung his arm to the left and fired again. He felt something grab him from behind and dropped to the ground. The sudden weight caught the Darklings by surprise. He rolled into his back and quickly shot them. He lokked around as he got to his feet.

"Looks like it's just us and you," Leo said to Seasonous as the Rangers re-grouped.

"Maybe, but only me is all I need!" Seasonous smiled. He threw rain drops at the Rangers. They split up, going two separate ways.

"Look out!" Austin warned as the demon threw cold weather their way. Leo, Chris, and Jasper took the opportunity to fire on Seasonous. The blasts made a little effect on him. He jumped and yelped as teeny exploded against him.

"You rangers will regret that!" He threw lightning bolts at them, but they dove to the side to avoid them. They surrounded him in a circle.

"Fire at once!" Leo told them. They all raised their blasters together and fired. Seasonous crated a gust of wind around himself that absorbed the blasts and sent them back out at the Rangers. The blasts on ode the Rangers all down and they moaned. "Your puny weapons can't beat me!"

"Quinn," Leo said. "Any suggestions?"

"You do remember when I said you had a weapons tag, right?"

"Yes!" Leo rolled to the side to avoid a blast of heat.

"Put the tag in your blaster. It'll activate your thunder weapons!"

"Thunder weapons?!" Andy asked with excitement.

Leo grabbed at her tags and pulled one of them off. She got to her feet and inserted it into the slot in her blaster. She threw her blaster in the air. "Thunder weapon! Activate!" Her blaster glowed completely red and then the light split into two parts. The two halves zoomed down to Leo's hands and died down. She looked down and saw two sticks, about two feet long each and pointed on both ends. "Rain sticks!" She spun her sticks in her hand and ran at Seasonous. He threw lighting at her, but she hit them away with her rain sticks.

"Sweet!" Chris smiled. She stood and inserted one of her tags into her blaster. "Thunder weapons!" She threw her blaster in their air and it glowed blue. The blue light split into two and flew down to her hands. She stared at the two blue Asian fans decorated with black wind currents. "Wind fans!" She topped and stared at them. "Wait a minute! These aren't weapons!"

"Yes they are!" Quinn argued in her helmet.

"No they're not! They're fans!"

"Throw them!"

"What?!"

"Just do it!"

Chris sighed and threw her right fan first, frisbee style, and then her left one. They zipped effortlessly through the air. They hit Seasonous one at a time and he stumbled. The fans then made a sudden boomerang turn and flew back to Chris's hands. She held them up and smiled. "Awesome!"

"I told you they were weapons!" Quinn snapped.

"Step back bitches," Austin smiled. He took off one of his tags. "Thunder weapons!" He threw his blaster in the air and grinned. It glossed with green light, then split and the two halves came back to his hands. "Fuck yeah!" he shouted as he held up two green hammers. They were about a foot long each and the heads were like something out of Thor. "Lightning hammers!" He ran at Seasonous and swung his left hammer and then his right. He hit the demon with both and sent green strikes of lightning through his body. Austin ducked under Seasonous's arm as he swung it at the green ranger.

"Me next!" Andy yelled. He put his tag into his blaster. "Thunder weapons! Activate!" His blaster glowed white and it split in half. The two halves came down to his hands and he looked at his weapons. "Snow scrapers!" His weapons were white and a foot long each. They were an inch thick one the handle and at the top was a curved shape. He ran at Seasonous and swung his scrapers. He swung both of them from left to right across his body as he hit Seasonous. The demon yelled and jumped away from the Rangers.

Jasper took his tags off his neck next and inserted it into his blaster. "Thunder weapons! Activate!" He threw it in the air and it glowed black. The two lights came down to his hand and he looked at them; he had two black maces, about a foot long each, in his hands. "Cloud maces!" He ran at the demon and swung his weapons. As the balls made contact with the demon's body had was thrown off balance. The black ranger kept up his attacks, swinging left after right at the demon. He jumped and spun, bringing his maces down across the demon's body. Seasonous stumbled back away from them.

"You Rangers can't defeat me!" Seasonous yelled as he readied another attack. He threw rain drops at them, they ducked and rolled different ways, avoiding them.

"We need some kind of coordinated attack," Andy said.

"Quinn!" Austin yelled.

"Ouch! No need to yell!" Quinn replied. "Yeah, you guys can each use a specific stronger attack."

Leo looked at her sticks. She put the two tips together and the sticks glowed, then died down. She was now holding one stick that was two feet long. She snapped it over her knee and it changed back into two sticks. She stood up. "How do we do our attacks?"

"You just power up your weapons and give them the verbal command of your attack."

"Well what's the verbal command?" Jasper asked her.

"Are your morphers not on tight enough?! Because this is information the morphing gird should be putting in your heads!"

"The what into our whats?!" Austin demanded.

Leo focused on her sticks and smiled. She told up and gripped her sticks. She ran at Seasonous. "Downpour strike!" She brought both weapons down across his body and sent a red wave of energy through his body.

Chris followed quickly, bringing her fans down from left to right in the same fashion. "Gust blast!"

Austin ran forward with his hammers and hit the demon with them in the same fashion. "Strike beat!"

Andy was up next, with his scrapers ready. "Blizz blitz!" He also swung his weapons against the demon in the same way his teammates had.

Jasper was last, bringing his maces into an attack the way each ranger before him had. "Downcast jab!"

Seasonous stumbled. "No! You will not defeat me!"

"Dude," Austin smiled as the Rangers stood in a line.

"We got you!" Andy smiled.

"No!" Seasonous yelled as he fell and literally exploded.

"That was climatic," Chris noted.

Leo nodded in agreement. "Yes it was."

Up above the city, Blizzitor growled. "Looks like we need to give it another try."

Hurricous nodded. He raised his spear straight above his head. Blizzitor stood on his left and raised his own spear at an angle and put his spear head in front of Hurricous'. Tornidon did the same from the right side; so that now the three spears were each one behind the other. "Chaotic energy!" they said in unison. "Give this demon life again!"

Down below the Rangers were about to demorph when dark clouds suddenly swirled up in a funnel shape out of nowhere; right where Seasnous had been. All five rangers stumbled back a bit when they discovered how big and tall the funnel cloud got. It suddenly dispersed and there stood Seasonous, now a hundred times bigger than he'd originally been.

"You rangers truly have no idea what you're up against!" Seasonous yelled down at them.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Austin yelled. "How the hell did that just happen?!"

"I did warn you this would happen," Quinn told them. "That's why you have zords!"

Leo and the others looked at their necklaces. They pulled off their small zord balls. They turned the dials on the edges of their morphers to the right; then pushed the watch faces in. "Thunder Zords! Activate!" They threw the small balls in the air and caught them in the beam of light that came out of each morpher. All five sets of eyes widened when the Zords suddenly grew to be the size of a tank each.

Leo smiled when she saw the red hawk. The body was red, except for the head and the tips of the wings which were white. The beak was a dull orange. Leo found herself briefly covered in red light and she was lifted into the zord. The light died away and she saw she was sitting in some kind of cockpit. She sat in a chair and was facing a three-sided panel. There were buttons of different colors and various switches on all three. She saw a slot in the middle of the center panel about the size of her other tag. She pulled the front tag off and put it into the slot. The space came alive with light around her and on the buttons. "Thunder Hawk Zord! Powered up!"

Chris grinned when her zord grew into a tiger. It was blue wtih black stripes. She was lifted inside it. Once seated, she looked around in amazement. She saw the slot in the center panel. She pulled off her zord tag. She inserted it into the slot and the cockpit seemed to come to life around her. "Thunder Tiger Zord! Powered up!"

Austin whopped when he saw the green bobcat that his zord grew into. "Sweet!" He was lifted into the cockpit and he sat in the chair gladly. "Freaking awesome!" He pulled off his zord tag and inserted it into the slot. "Thunder Bobcat Zord! Powered up!"

Andy stared in amazement at the white fox his small zord had become. He nodded in encouragement. "Oh yes!" He was surrounded by white light and lifted into the fox. He was seated in a cockpit when the light died down. He put his zord tag into the slot. The area around him was suddenly lit up and he grinned. "Thunder Fox Zord! Powered up!"

Jasper also discovered that his zord was a bird. Except his was a black falcon. He was surrounded by black light and lifted into the zord. He was seated inside the cockpit and looked around. "Wow." He put his zord tag into the slot and the various buttons on his panels lit up. "Thunder Falcon Zord! Powered up!"

Leo figured out that two buttons on the left side of her center panel, identical in size, made her zord go up and down. The two buttons on ether side of those, made it go left and right. It was like some kind of high tech video game. Not that she'd ever been allowed to play one. She brought her zord close to Seasonous and pushed a red button on the left side of her center panel. Her zord sent a red blast at the demon. It hit him, but he sent a gust of wind her way. Leo suddenly saw the world go in a spin cycle as she spirited away.

"You ok Leo?" Jasper asked her.

"Yes," Leo said as she regained control.

"You guys do realize that you can make yourselves more powerful right?" Quinn asked them through their helmets.

"Uh...no!" Andy told her.

Quinn sighed. "Z is right, we have a lot of work to do with you five."

"Just tell us how to beat him, there smarty-pants," Austin told her.

"You guys see those multi colored dials?"

All the Rangers looked at their center panels and discovered the dial near the top of it. It was split into five sections and had each of their colors. "Yes," Leo told her.

"Turn them all the way." All five rangers turned the dials until they wouldn't turn anymore. "Then push them." They pushed them and suddenly all the Zords seemed to race to each other.

The red hawk folded it's wings off to the side so that the feathers were pointing outwards all the way down the back. On the left side, the falcon zord folded its wings in so it was like a rectangle shape, and fit itself like an arm in it the left side of the falcon zord. The white fox jumped up and it's body seemed to fold in a little. The front and back legs folded in and it attached itself onto the other side of the hawk. The blue tiger put its tail down the length of the top of its body and folded its legs in. The head snapped forward at an 90 degree angle it attached to the bottom of the falcon. The bobcat folded itself in in the same fashion and became the right leg. The falcon made itself more like the torso of a person and the wings spread down on ether side on the back. The head slid up to reveal a small head and face of a person and functioned as a helmet.

Inside, Leo was once again surrounded by light, as were the other rangers; each matching their ranger colors. As the lights died they discharged they were now all together in a bigger cockpit. Leo was in back, with Chris on her right and Austin in her left. Andy was on Austin's left and Jasper was on Chris's right. All of them were on three different levels with Leo at the highest and Andy and Japser at the lowest; and the other four were angled so all five of them formed like a 'V'.

"Thunder Strike Megazord!" the five of them yelled. "Powered up!"

"Yeah!" Quinn smiled. "Now you're getting it!"

"Damn!" Austin laughed, looking around. "This is fucking sweet!"

"You should...maybe focus," Leo told him a little quietly.

"Oh yeah sure."

Seasonous laughed. "A bigger toy won't help you stop me!"

"On the contrary," Andy said. He pushed his button to fire, but nothing happened. "Uh..."

Seasonous took the opportunity to pelt them with rain drops. The megazord tumbled back as the drops exploded against it. The Rangers found themselves inside a shaking cockpit with sparks starting to fly everywhere. He sent lightning at them next and it knocked their megazord off balance; making the giant fighting machine fall.

Quinn sighed in their helmets. "You guys do realize that combing the Zords means you have to use combined attacks, right?"

"Well we do now!" Jasper snapped. Seasonous sent a winter weather attack and the megazord started to freeze.

"Guys, we need to do something! Like now!" Andy told them.

"Well...do what Quinn said," Leo suggested. "All fire at once."

"Right!" the other four chorused. They all used their navigation buttons to get the megazord back on its feet. They made the arms snap open and shattered the ice that had been forming. Austin and Andy pushed their fire buttons and the right arm pointed at Seasonous. The fox head opened its mouth and shot blasts of green and white at the demon. He jumped back from the suddenly assault. Chris and Jasper followed with the left arm and it shot blue and black blasts at Seasonous. He stumbled backwards in pain.

"I'm taking the initiative to assume you don't know this, but the row of switches is to increase your power. Do not go above three switches. I don't need you overloading the Zords in your first battle!"

"Got it!" Chris told her. "Shall we Jasper?"

"Oh we shall," Jasper replied. Both of them flipped one of the switches. Leo noticed that Seaosnous was readying for another attack. He threw a mixture of rain drops and lighting at them. Leo pushed a different button, this one was a small rectangle, and flipped a switch. The wings spread out on the back of the megazord seemed to come to life. They wrapped around the megazord and acted as a shield against the blasts. As soon as the wings flapped back, the left arm once again fired on Seaonous. He stumbled backwards from it.

"Let's finish this guy! Again!" Austin cheered.

Leo nodded. "Austin, Andy, flip the first switch."

The two Rangers did just that and they could both hear and feel the power in their Zords increase. "Freaking awesome."

"Let's fire all together!" Chris told them. All five rangers pushed their fire button and both arms pointed at the demon. The wings spread again and lifted the megazord up. It flew up and did a little flip before it came down with both arms pointed at Seasonous. It hit him with both arms and quickly spiraled to the side, causing the wings to hit him too.

Seaosnous stumbled in pain as the megazord landed back in the ground. "No! Not again!"

"Hey buddy!" Austin yelled. "Tell all your little downs friends that taking our world won't be as easy as they think!"

"Because we're going to protect it!" Jasper called. "With everything we got!"

"And we plan to win!" Andy shouted. "To completely defeat your kind!"

"You came to the wrong world!" Chris told him. "Because the power rangers exist said here!"

"And we will win," Leo finished.

"I...will...not...be...beat!" Seaosnous yelled as he fell and exploded; again.

The Rangers all cheered. "One down!" Austin smiled as Andy leaned down and high-fired him. "Who knows how many to go!"

"We did it," Leo nodded, feeling grateful. "We did it."

Quinn sat back in her chair and looked at Z. "I told you they could do it."

"I never doubted you," Z smiled at her. "Not in a million years."

-Thunder Strike-

Leo sighed she looked around her room. Her music was all packed up, as were her instruments, and most of her clothes. Anything that she knew she would need for the time being. She placed the teleporters on everything and brought her morpher to her mouth. "I'm all read Quinn."

"Ok Leo!" The red ranger watched as her stuff teleported out of her room. She left the now empty room and clasped the door tightly behind her. She walked carefully through her pristine house down to the living room. She found her parents sitting on the couch reading a Bible.

"I'm leaving now," she told them. Her mother passed the book to her father and stood up.

"Good-bye Leona,"'she said, hugging her daughter. "Have your things already been moved?"

"Yes the people who were belong me have already taken them."

"That was fast. And quiet."

Leo smiled. "I'm sure you were just too busy basking in the word of our Lord." Her mother nodded approvingly and she knew she'd chosen her words rightly.

"Well, study hard."

"I will."

Her father got up as well and gave her a good-bye hug and kiss. "Behave yourself. Act respectably and the way we have taught you."

"I will," she assured him. She kept her wrist with her morpher hidden from them. She didn't want to have to lie to them more than absolutely necessary. She left the house, feeling as though when front door closed it was separating her from someone she used to be, and someone this journey was going to make her. She walked down the street to throw off any followers, then ducked next to a house. Out of sight she raised her morpher to her mouth. "Quinn, can you-"

"Teleport you in?! Already ahead of you!" Quinn told her excitedly.

Leo sighed and she was encased in red light as she teleported away.

-Thunder Strike-

As her last thing was put away in a box, Chris stood up and nodded. She picked up one of the teleportation devices and placed it on a box. She put them all together, then did another quick check of her room. She still wasn't sure about giving up everything in her life to fight demons, but she remembered the thrilling sense of victory she'd felt when they defeated the demon. She remembered the screams of terrified people as the demons attempted to take down their world. _I can't stand by and let them get away with this, _she thought. _I have to help protect our world._

She raised her morpher to her mouth and pressed a button. "Quinn I'm-"

"All set?! Alright!"

Chris shook her head as all of her stuff disappeared. "That girl has way too much energy." She left her room and saw her parents getting ready to cook dinner. She walked into the kitchen and her dad gave her a smile.

"Hey Chris."

"Hey Dad. So, I'm heading out now."

"I still can't believe that old, haunted mansion is actually a special school," her mom said.

"Yeah," Chris agreed carefully. "Strange. Like I told you, my stuff already gone ahead of me so I have to go. I love you guys."

"Send e-mails, call, message by carrier pigeon," her dad said as he hugged her. "Just keep in touch. Ok?"

"Ok Dad." Chris gave her mom a hug as well and the woman kissed her forehead.

"Behave. Make new friends."

"Christopher told me the same thing earlier," she complained. "What is it with everyone thinking my social life is suffering?"

Her mom chuckled. "Be good."

"Always am. I'm not like most people."

"We know."

Chris left the house and walked down the steers to find a safe place to teleport. It was a sunny day once more, but far above the city she could still see the looming threat of dark clouds. She ducked behind a tree and pushed a button on her watch. "Quinn? I'm ready to-"

"Already on it!" Quinn assured her.

Chris shook her head. "Still way too much energy," she sighed as she teleported away in a burst of blue light.

-Thunder Strike-

Austin nodded in satisfaction as the blastoff his stuff teleported away. there was a knock on his door. "Who is it?"

"Me," his older brother, Daniel, said poking his head in. He looked around his younger brother's room in shock. "Moved out already?"

"Believe me, I can't wait to get out of this house."

"Speaking of which, try not to get kicked out of this place too."

"I-" Austin was cut off by the sound of his parents yelling. He and Daniel remained silent and still as they listened to the sustained sound of conflict. It wasn't uncommon, in fact it was completely normal in their house. Had been their entire lives.

"Wonder what they're fighting about this time."

"Who cares," Austin snorted as he pulled in his over-sized green hoodie. "It'll end the same way it always does. Mom will storm out shouting about how she'll never come back. Two days later she'll walk right back in like nothing happened and Dad will give her something shiny as an apology. Then for a few days they'll love each other, and then the cycle starts all over again."

Daniel regarded his brother carefully. While Austin's behavior wasn't good, he almost couldn't blame him for it. He knew their parents had always been too busy fighting each other than to actually raise their children. "Just behave at this school. Ok? You're lucky it's boarding place. Get kicked out and you'll end up back here."

Austin gave him a venom filled glare. "Yeah, now I can be just like you. Leave and never come back. Ever."

"Austin-"

"Just get the fuck out of my way." Austin should let past him. "I don't need you or anyone else to fucking tell me what to do! I can take care of myself!" He left his room and his semi-shocked older brother without looking back. He went downstairs and found his parents still arguing in the living room. He hesitated outside the doorway for a second.

"-lazy Jerk!" his mom yelled.

"At least I'm not a spoiled bitch of a wife!" Austin's dad retorted.

Austin shook his head and headed for the front door. He slammed it shut with a bang, doubting that they'd even heard him. "Probably won't even notice that I'm gone," he muttered angrily. He stopped once he reached the sidewalk and looked back at his house. How incredibly obvious it was how rich his family was. "Money doesn't fucking buy happiness." He walked a few yards, then brought his watch up to his mouth. "Yo Quinn! Let's go!"

"Alrighty Austin!" Quinn replied enthusiastically.

The green ranger smirked as he teleported away in green light. _Later bitches._

-Thunder Strike-

Andy approached his dad quietly. His stuff had already been teleported away. All that was

left was for him to say good-bye. He tapped his old man on the shoulder; who turned around and smiled at him. "All ready to go?" Andy nodded. "I'm glad that you've been accepted to this school."

"Are you sure you're ok with me going?" Andy asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of...Sally and April..."

His dad smiled sadly as he put his hands on each of his son's shoulders. "Andrew, I know things have been rough the last couple of years; especially where your sisters are concerned. And while I will miss you, this is not the same thing. This is a chance for you to come out of your shell a little bit and really have the chance to get to know yourself. Away from me, and councilors, and most importantly, your mother."

"I just dint want you to think I'm leaving you."

"No. I can actually take care of myself you know. I love you." His dad gave him a hug. "Just remember to call. Ok?"

"Ok Dad." Andy gave his dad one last hug before leaving their apartment. _At least my mom won't know my location, _he thought happily as he walked down the hall. _Maybe she'll finally leave me alone. _He ducked into an alcove and brought his watch to his mouth. "Beam me up Scottie."

"You got it!" Quinn replied happily.

Andy glanced back at his apartment one last time. _Bye Dad,_ he thought as he teleported away in a flash of white light.

-Thunder Strike-

"Jasper!" Gabe moaned as he stretched out on his older brother's bed, also know as the couch. "Why are you leaving?!"

"Because," Jasper told him for the tenth time. "I'm going to a special school."

"Can I come?!" his younger, and only, sister asked, running in. He smiled and picked her up.

"No Carly. I'm afraid not. I'm the only one."

"Oh. How long you be gone?"

"For a while. So you better behave," he tickled her as he talked. "So I can get good letters about you. Ok?"

"Ok! Ok!" Carly pushed away from him, out of breath. "I miss you Jas!"

"I'll miss you too." He gave the six-year-old a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Come on Gabe, get up."

Gabe jumped up and gave him a hug. "Bye Jasper. Have fun."

Jasper turned around and saw Ricky, the second oldest, coming in with Brian. "Look after the young ones," he said to Ricky, give his brother a one armed-hug.

"I will. Take care of yourself out there Jasper. Don't worry about us."

"I always worry about you guys." He gave Brian a one-armed hug as well. "Don't forget what I said about defending yourself."

"I won't. Kick lots of butts where you're going."

Jasper smiled. "Don't worry kid. I will." He looked around the small area sadly. He knew how important it was that his parents worked, but he wished he could've said bye to them. _I'm lucky enough they had time to read the letter earlier. _He smiled at his siblings one last time. "You guys behave, ok?"

"We will!" Gabe and Carly said excitedly.

"I'll try," Brian allowed.

Ricky nodded in agreement. "Me too."

"Alright then." He slung his black backpack over his shoulder. As he left the small house he heard Gabe begging Ricky to put Spider-Man on. He smiled as he closed the front door firmly behind him. He walked down the street with a kind of sinking feeling in his stomach. "I have to do this," he reminded himself. "For them." He walked for a few minutes to be sure he was alone. He then pushed the button on the side of his morpher. "Hey Quinn?"

"You ready Japser?!"

"That I am."

"Yay!"

Jasper sighed and he was encased in black light and teleported away.

-Thunder Strike-

Z shook his head as he passed Quinn a plate. "Quinn, if you don't stop bouncing around, you're going to break something."

"I'm just so excited!" she smiled. She practically bounced as she set a plate down for everyone. "They live with us now Z! There are people living with us now!"

"Yes, Quinn I know. But remember it's only because they're rangers."

"I know, I know. But still! Actual people! Here!"

Z chuckled. "And don't forget," he said as he handed her utensils. "What are we not telling your father?"

"All of this," Quinn smiled.

"Excellent. Why don't you go get them?"

Quinn nodded and ran out of the dining room. She sprinted up the metal, spiral staircase with ease that only years of practice could bring. Once on the third floor, she ran to the room closest to hers. She knocked. Excitement zipped through her when she heard someone on the other side answer, "Yes?"

"Time for dinner Leo."

The door opened and Leo smiled at her politely. "Great."

Quinn grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's get the others." Not waiting for a reply, she ran down the hall to the next door; dragging poor Leo being her. She knocked again and squealed a little when Chris answered.

"Who is it?"

"Quinn! It's time for dinner!"

"Ok! I'll be right there!"

"Come on!" Quinn told Leo. She pulled the red ranger along to the next door. Leo gave her a look of small disbelief. Quinn laughed. "You look shocked."

"I am. I don't understand how one person can have so much energy."

"It's a gift," Quinn explained as she ran back down the hall, around the library, to the other side of the house. She knocked on another door.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"It's time for dinner!"

The door opened. "Ok. Downstairs I presume, right?"

"Yup!" She ran down the hall.

"May I help you?" Andy asked her, opening it.

"It's dinner time."

"Ok."

Quinn dragged Leo down the hall to the last door. She knocked enthusiastically. "Austin!"

"What?!" Austin moaned. He blinked when he saw Quinn's radiant smile. "What the hell are you on girl?" He noticed Leo staring at him wide-eyed. "What?"

"Y-you swore," Leo said quietly.

"Yeah," Austin nodded, leaning against the doorframe. "I tend to do that."

"Come on!" Quinn grabbed his hand too and pulled him out of his room. "Let's go!"

Austin pulled away form her and gave her a look. "You're one crazy, smart girl. Emphasis on the crazy."

Quinn dragged Leo towards the stairs. The red ranger almost tripped in the haste of the girl pulling her along. "Whoa! Quinn! Slow down!"

"No time to slow down silly!" When the two of them got to the dining room, last, Leo was a little winded. The two of them sat down and the others gave them looks. Leo caught Quinn's eye and smiled. _I think I may like it here, _the red ranger thought as she served herself a helping of pasta. _This will certainly be an adventure._

_-_ThunderStrike_-_

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike:Leo is cautious in her new role as the leader, and is unsure if she able to take on the responsibility. Will she fail the Rangers and prove that Z and Quinn have misplaced their trust? Or will she learn what it truly means to wear the color red?


	8. Episode 3: Lead By Example Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode III: Lead By Example

Chapter One: Hesitant Red

A/N: Alright! We have another episode ready! Hope you all like it!

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell

The Rangers were all thrown backwards into their seats when the demon hit them. Leo covered her arm over herself as sparks rained down on her suit. Grateful for the protection the red suit provided, she put her hands on her center console. "Everyone ok?"

"Yeah, but something tells me we won't be if we don't do something," Andy told her.

"Let's just hit him with the finisher and call it good!" Austin told her, already ready to flip his switch.

"Let's not," Chris told him like he was an idiot. "We need to weaken him more to ensure that the finisher is effective."

"That's a waste of time!"

"You're a waste of time!"

"Uh...guys..." Leo said quietly.

"And another thing-" Chris began.

"Guys!" Andy and Jasper snapped. All five Rangers all looked out of the megazord as the demon they were fighting suddenly sent a blast of energy at them. All five them screamed and everything around them went black.

"Well," Quinn said as she brought the Rangers out of the simulation and they de-morphed. "That was...better..."

Z gave her a look. "Until they died."

"Yeah. Minor details."

"We would've been fine if someone," Chris said as she gave Austin a look. "hadn't been arguing with me."

"Well excuse me if I wanted to get the job done faster!" Austin snapped.

"Getting it done faster doesn't necessarily mean getting it done right!"

"Ok! Ok!" Z yelled, cutting off their argument. "Why don't you guys head upstairs and change? We'll take a break from the virtual training and work on your fighting skills."

"Why?" Andy asked.

"Because it's embarrassing seeing you fight half-assed the way you do. Go on, upstairs." The Rangers started to file up the stairs. "Except for Leo. I want to talk to you."

Chris and Austin were already almost upstairs, and arguing, so they didn't catch the order. Andy and Jasper gave the red ranger a look of confusion. She in turn looked at Z and Quinn. "What's up?"

"Leo...you do know that you're the leader...right?" Quinn asked her.

Leo balked at her. "M-me?! I-I'm the leader?!"

"Apparently not," Z smiled. "Yes Leo. Traditionally the red ranger is the leader."

"Traditionally?"

"Well there was once a white ranger who was a leader," Z and Quinn shared a look and the teen smiled and turned away. "But we won't talk about him."

"I just...why not Chris?! She's very...leader like."

"But I-"

"We," Quinn interrupted.

"We," Z amended. "Picked you. And we weren't wrong the first time when we handed you a morpher, right?"

"Well...yes..."

"I don't want to keep you from the very vital training we have to do, but it's really something you need to consider. You are the leader Leo. This team needs you to be leader like. Make decisions. Give orders. Stop arguments. Be the red ranger we know you can be."

"Um..."

Z sighed. "Go change into more comfortable clothes. We have work to do if you five want to live."

"Ok." Leo went upstairs and Z looked at Quinn.

"Don't give me that look," Quinn told him.

"She's very shy. And reserved. And quiet."

"I'm aware." Quinn got up and brought up a computer program. She sat down at a workable and started working on her latest project. "None the less, I believe in her."

"I'd better get up there before Chris and Austin kill each other. Seriously, why are they always at each other's throats?"

"You act like I've been around teenagers before."

"Touché." He went upstairs and Quinn smiled. When she heard the door to the basement shut, she got up and headed into the far corner of the room. The basement was as large as the entire area of the house. She pulled a large sheet off her latest project and smiled.

"They are going to love this," she told herself as she started to work in the piece she had been building.

-Thunder Strike-

Inside his cloud castle, Emperor Stormicon looked down at from his throne at his three best soldiers. "Why haven't you defeated this world yet?!"

"Those teenagers who call themselves the power rangers are more formidable than we thought," Hurricous explained carefully. He was well aware, as were they all, that any wrong words on their part could result in the end of their existence.

"They appear to be very dedicated to protecting their pathetic world," Tornidon added.

"I don't care how determined they are!" Stormicon snapped, banging his spear off the ground. "I want them destroyed!"

"Yes Emperor!" the three demons said, bowing.

"Sire, we will work diligently to see that these five are defeated," Blizzitor assured the angered king.

"You'd better! Because if I can't harness chaotic energy from this world, then I'll have to collect it from one of you!"

"Uh...I highly doubt that will be necessary Sire," Hurricous assured him. "We will think of something brilliant."

"If I may make a suggestion," Tornidon said hesitantly. "Perhaps we shall focus all our energy on defeating the rangers. Collect chaotic energy while we can, but then funnel it into making demons. If we defeat the Rangers, then collecting the rest of the energy from this world will be easier."

Stormicon nodded. "Yes," he said slowly. "Yes I do think that's a good idea. With its protectors out of the way, we shall conquer this world unopposed. Go! Put this plan into action!"

"Yes Sire!" the three demons said. They left the throne room and headed for the demon chamber. When they got there, Blizzitor looked around and sighed.

"The walls are almost barren," he said, commenting on the fact the dark walls had only a few demons. "Did we really use that many in the last world?"

"Doesn't matter," Hurricous said, walking up to one of the remaining pictures. He pointed his spear at it. "Chaotic energy, bring this demon to life!" He stepped back as a funnel cloud come off the wall. "We can make more with the energy we collect. And this demon is going to be perfect for that."

-Thunder Strike-

Chris grinned triumphantly as she knocked Austin on his back. "Ha!"

Austin gave her a glare and jumped back to his feet. "You cheated!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Jasper stopped with his hand on Andy's arm. He was helping the other boy learn a block. They looked over at the two arguing Rangers. They looked at Z, who was helping Leo. "They really don't like each other," Andy told Jasper.

The black ranger nodded. "Only a lot."

Z gave Leo a look, but she glanced away shyly. He sighed and walked over to Chris and Austin, who were now so close they looked like they were about to strangle each other. "Knock it off!" he told them, pushing them away from each other. "Why don't we switch the partners?"

"Fine with me," Chris muttered. She wandered over to Leo who was practicing her punches and kicks. "Want to spar?"

"Sure." Leo took a stance, as did Chris. The blue ranger didn't even hesitate to attack her. She k kicked at Leo, who jumped back. She raised her fists, but hesitated again and Chris was able to punch her. She winced and stepped to the side as the blue ranger came at her again. Chris grabbed Leo by the collar and used her leg to trip the red ranger. She threw her onto the mats and Leo had to roll away. She looked around and realized that everyone was staring at her. "What?"

"Uh...nothing..." Andy and Jasper said at the same time.

"Yo, Princess over here took you down like it was nothin'!" Austin told her.

Leo blushed a little. Z was opened his mouth, but was cut off by the alarms. The red ranger scrambled to her feet and followed the others. Chris, who was in the lead, quickly typed in the passcode to get downstairs. Quinn was already at her computers when they got there.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked.

"Sensors picked up a demon attack in the city," Quinn explained. "Corner of Fifth and Maple."

"Let's go kick some ass!" Austin cheered enthusiastically.

Quinn nodded and teleported them down a few blocks away from the battle.

-Thunder Strike-

Once they were in the city, the Rangers headed for the site of the attack. As they got closer though, Leo had a thought. "Uh...guys...guys."

"What?" Andy asked her.

"We should morph now, where no one can see us."

"She's right," Jasper nodded. "Secret identities and all that."

Chris nodded. "Good thinking Leo. I wouldn't have thought of that."

Leo simply nodded and looked around. They were alone on this street. She nodded it them. "We should do it quick."

"THUNDER STRIKE! STORM WARNING!" Once morphed they ran the last two blocks to the battle. They turned a corner and saw people trying to get away from Darklings. They spread out to rescue the civilians from the demons.

Leo hesitated to take out her blaster, not wanting someone to get caught in the crossfire. _But it's not my only weapon, _she realized, kicking a Darkling in the chest. She took her blaster out and put her weapon tag into it. "Thunder weapons! Activate! Rain sticks!" She caught her red sticks and twirled them in her fingers. She slashed at Darklings on two sides, then immediately whipped them through the chest of another one. The two people she freed ran off down one of the streets as fast as they could. She nodded and stabbed her weapons through ant other two Darklings. She ducked as two of me stuck their arms out at her. She slashed her sticks through another chest. She spun around took down two more. This freed another civilian, who started running.

Closest to the red ranger, Chris avoided a blast of wind from the Darklings. She saw Leo using her rain sticks and nodded. _Another great idea, _she thought, punching a Darkling in the head. _Our thunder weapons have more control. _She put her weapon tag in her blaster and threw it. "Thunder weapons, activate! Wind fans!" She caught her two blue fans and threw one. Spun as it cut through the air and hit several Darklings. They dissipated, and people ran free. Chris caught her fan as it came back to her and swiped at a group of drilling a close to her. She wove through them; aiming for heads and chests to try and avoid hitting any civilians. A young boy, around ten, suddenly yelled in fear. Chris noticed his attention was focused on something behind her. She destroyed the Darklings holding him. She turned around and saw a demon who was a much bigger threat.

She had a more feminine physique and grey skin. Her feet and hands were both a dark shade of grey, as were her eyes. Her face was simply her eyes and nothing else. Not unlike all the other demons they'd fought so far. She held a small wand like object that was like a baton with a circle and spiral on top. Austin noticed her now as well and frowned. "Who the fuck are you?!"

"I," the demon said, confirming Chris's assumptions that she was female with her voice, "am Chaotica! And I shall create lots of chaotic energy for Emperor Stormicon."

"Not on our watch!" Chris snapped. She attacked and Chaotica smiled. She raised her baton and pointed it at the blue ranger."

"Panic."

Chris stopped suddenly and seemed to grow rigid. Jasper finished off the Darklings near him and ran to her. "Chris," he said as he got closer to her. "As you ok?!" He reached out for her shoulder. As soon as he touched her, she flipped out.

"Ah! N-no! Get away from me!" Chris pushed Jasper away and backed up. Chaotica smiled and leapt at the blue ranger, hitting her with her baton. Instead of fighting back, Chris fell on the ground.

"Chris, what're you doing?!" Andy demanded. With all the civilians now gone, they could focus on the main threat. He ran at Chaotica with his blaster raised. She simply pointed her baton at him.

"Panic."

Andy stopped and dropped his blaster like it was made of hot iron. "What am I doing?! We-we can fight! We're all going to die! We don't know what we're doing!"

Chaotica laughed as he put his hands to his helmet and seems to be squeezing it. Jasper came running up to him and grabbed his wrists while Austin and Leo tired to occupy the demon. "Get ahold of yourself man!" Jasper told Andy.

"We're all going to die!" Andy insisted, looking at Jasper. He grabbed the black ranger by the shoulders. "Don't you see it?! We're doomed! Doomed!"

Austin was thrown back by the two of them and got to his feet. "Well he's fucking lost it. Honestly I thought he would be the first." Leo fell back from her attempts to take the demon down. Chaotica pointed her baton at the red ranger, but she quickly rolled away from its range. As she got to her feet, she saw the demon turn her attention to the boys. She roasted her baton and pointed it at Jasper. Austin saw this and tried to get up. "Jasper, look out!"

"Panic," Chaotica said.

Jasper stiffened up; then suddenly grabbed Andy's shoulders the way the white ranger was holding his. "You're right! God dammit you're right! We're all going to die! We have no idea what we're doing!"

Austin looked at them in half shock, half disgust. "Really?! Dudes, there's no need to fucking panic!"

"Panic?" Leo whispered. She looked over at Chris, who was in a fetal position on the ground and was rocking back and forth. "Panic."

Chaotica laughed as Jasper and Andy hugged each other and sat on the ground; both apparently crying about how they were all going to die. "Looks like you Rangers aren't so tough after all."

"Bitch, I'm going to show you how tough I am!" Austin yelled, running at her.

"Austin don't!" Leo warmed him.

Chaotica simply raised her baton and pointed it at him. "Panic."

Austin stiffened up and Leo shook her head. The green ranger suddenly three himself on the ground. He beat his fists again the hard tar. "It's no use! We have no chance! There nothing we can do!"

"Oh no," Leo murmured.

Chaotica laughed. "Looks like it's just you Red Ranger. I think I'll let your friends here create some chaotic energy for me before I destroy them." Leo could've sworn the demon winked at her, before she snapped her fingers she dissipated. The last thing Leo heard as they whips were zoomed way like they were being blown by a gust of wind, was her laughter. The red anger sighed and approached Chris.

"Chris," she said gently. "Chris?"

The blue ranger looked at her. She shook her head earnestly. "We're all going to die! We can't do it! We just can't! They're going to kill us!"

Leo looked around at all her teammates, now trapped in the same states of panic. She put her hand on top of her helmet. _Oh gosh. What do I do now?_


	9. Episode 3: Lead By Example Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode III: Lead By Example

Chapter Two: A Natural

A/N: Hey guys! I stayed up just to finish this for you! Sorry it's a little on the short side. Hope you still enjoy it!

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell

Leo managed to corral the other four Rangers so teeny were at least losing their minds close to each other. "Uh...Quinn?"

"Yeah Leo?" Quinn asked.

"I need you teleport us back."

"You got it."

Leo waited a minute, and then they were gone. When she opened her eyes again she de-morphed. She was back in the basement. Quinn spun around in her chair and looked at them. She opened her mouth, but didn't quite know what to say. Chris was still in a fetal position, rocking back and forth slightly. Andy and Jasper were still holding each other. Austin at least seemed to realize the change in scenery. He ran over to Quinn as she stood up. He grabbed her arms in a crushing grip. "Quinn! It's no use! No fucking use!" He shook her with each word. "We're all fucking screwed! You saw that fight!"

Quinn looked at Austin, then at Leo. She stepped towards him and broke his grip on her arms. She flipped him over her shoulder and onto his back in almost the same motion. Leo looked at her with wide eyes. "So it wasn't just the cameras. They really are panicking."

Leo nodded. "I'm afraid so. I wish I knew how to help them."

"We'll think of something," Z told her. He crouched down and put his arms between Jasper and Andy. He tried to separate the two of them, but they held onto each other for dear life.

"We're all dead!" Andy moaned.

"Dead!" Jasper replied.

"Nether of you are dead yet, in case you didn't notice," Z told them.

"I'm afraid I don't know what to do," Quinn said. "The only thing I can think of is to defeat the demon."

"Which time?" Leo asked.

"The first one I hope."

Leo crossed her arms, a nervous habit Quinn had started to notice she did when she was uncomfortable. "And I have to do it alone?"

"Well, possibly. Theoretically the others can fight. But," she looked down at Austin was was still mumbling about them dying, "I think it would be kind of hard for them."

Leo nodded. "What do we do now?"

Quinn gave her an odd look, almost smiling. "I don't know Leo. What do we do?"

"I asked you."

"But you're the leader."

Leo blinked. "I-I-" she sighed and closed her eyes. She slowly lifted her hands like she was holding a violin. She started to air play "The March" from The Nutcracker Suite. She hummed the tune in perfectly; every pitch perfect and precise. Quinn watched her with fascination. She listened to Leo hum her sing as she pretended to play. The red ranger suddenly stopped. She looked at Quinn. "Separate them."

"I'm working on that," Z assured her, stilling trying to push Jasper and Andy away from each other.

"Take them to their rooms. We need to try and make them focus. Plus, being near each other is probably feeding each other's panic anyways."

Quinn nodded. "I like it. Ok, let's move them." She bent down and hoisted Austin to his feet. "Come on Tough Guy."

"Fucking useless...that's what I am. Useless!" Quinn put his arms in a lock and marched him up the stairs. "We're all fucking useless! We don't know what we're doing!"

"That's ok," Quinn assured him as they got onto the first floor. "Most rangers at the beginning don't."

Z meanwhile, decided that separating the black and white Rangers while still downstairs was probably not the best plan. Signing in frustration, he grabbed each of them by the collar of their shirts and hauled them to their feet. "Let's go boys," he said pulling them along. The movement carried Jasper away from Andy and finally broke the two of them apart.

"No! No!" Jasper yelled. "We're all going to die! We have no hope!"

"Well you can have no hope upstairs, come on." He moved Jasper in front and hauled Andy behind him. He kept pushing the black ranger slightly to get him to keep moving. "Keep climbing boys."

Leo meanwhile, was the only left to deal with Chris. She crouched down and put her arms under the blue ranger's. "Come on Chris," she told her. "Let's go."

"We're all going to die!" Chris sobbed. "Die! Die! Die!"

"Well not right now, so come on." She attempted to pull Chris into a standing position, but the blue ranger couldn't be moved. "Chris come on!" She moaned and shook her head. "Chris, get up!" She almost fell backwards when Chris suddenly stood up. "Ok then. Come on, follow me." It was a simple and soft spoken command, yet Chris followed it. She followed Leo up the stairs to the first floor. They went over to the spiral stair case that led up to the next floors. _Why do our rooms have to be so high up? _Leo wondered as she climbed the stairs with Chris.

"We're all dead!" Chris yelled, shaking her head. "Dead I tell you!"

"Yes, you have been telling me. For a while now." They finally made it to the third floor and Leo lead Chris over to her room. She opened the door and brought her into the open middle. As soon as he hand was free, Chris sunk down onto the floor and curled up into a fetal position.

"We can't do anything! We're going to die!" Chris yelled as she rocked back and forth.

_At least she's semi-stationary,_ Leo thought. She left Chris alone, hoping the solitude would calm, her down. _I highly doubt it though. This seems like some kind of...magic spell. I think Quinn is right. Getting rid of that demon may be the only way to fix this. _She went around to the front side of the floor and saw Z coming out of Andy's room. "Chris is secure. For now at least."

"Andy and Jasper too. They're not very happy about being separated. When I left them, Jasper was trying to bang his head off the floor. So I put him on his bed."

"Let's hope he doesn't fall off."

As if on cue they heard a thump! followed by the muffled yells of, "Dead I tell you! Dead!"

"Well we tried," Z told her.

"What was that thump?" Quinn asked, coming out of Austin's room.

"Jasper fell of his bed."

"Ouch. Well Austin is secure in his room. What now?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing to do until the sensors pick up the demon again."

Leo had an idea, but was a little shy to share. Quinn noticed her cross her arms again and looked at her. "What's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Something's making you uncomfortable, and right now the only thing that could be it is you having an idea. So what is it?"

Leo smiled a little. "Is it possible for you to use the sensors to search the city for Chaotica?"

Quinn thought about it then nodded. "Yeah!" she smiled. "I could definitely do that! I'll get right on it!" She ran towards the stairs and was gone in a flash.

"I need to remember to switch her to decaf," Z commented.

"Why would you even give her coffee?" Leo asked him.

"I dint know she'd grown up to be a reliable source of renewable energy."

Leo laughed. "I'm going to find something to do. Looks like there's nothing we can do until Quinn finds Chaotica."

Z nodded. "It seems so."

-Thunder Strike-

Finding something to do for Leo turned about to be continuing with her fighting practice. She punched and kicked a practice dummy endlessly. She stopped and tuned around, deciding to take a break. She found Quinn standing in the doorway; leaning against the door frame. "Hey."

"Hey," Quinn smiled. "You're looking pretty good."

"Not really. Shouldn't you be looking for Chaotica?"

"The search program I designed is looking now. If it picks up even a trace of demon anywhere in the city, I'll know."

"Good."

"Want to spar?"

"Uh...sure..."

Quinn grinned and stepped forward. She took a stance across from Leo, who copied her. As they started circling each other, it occurred to her how good Quinn was. "You're pretty good," Leo commented as the other girl students attacked her. She blocked Quinn's punch and tired to retaliate.

"Thanks. You're not bad yourself."

"I'm not really that good ether."

"Not so." Quinn kicked Leo in the chest and sent her to the ground. "You're very ok."

"Very ok?" Leo asked as he rolled to the side. She came to her feet and went on the offensive.

"Exactly. But if it helps, you're a pretty good leader."

"Again with that?" Leo asked, ducking. "You do know I'm not really leader material right?"

"Really? Could've fooled me."

"Really?"

"Really," Quinn agreed as she got Leo's arms pinned behind her. "I was watching that fight you know. Your first priority after the fight was the safety of your team. You got them together so you wouldn't lose anyone when I teleported you. You thought of a way to try and help them. Then you came up with a way to look for Chaotica. You know, for someone who doesn't think she's a leader. You sure do act like one."

Leo simply tired to get out of the head lock by taking out Quinn's feet. The other girl simply pivoted and dropped the red ranger onto the mats. She looked down at her; grinning. "You were going easy on me, weren't you?"

"Yes," Quinn nodded, pulling the red ranger to her feet. "You do know you don't have to chamber anything to be the leader, right? You're great just the way you are. A real natural."

Leo sighed and looked at the ground. The alarms suddenly went off and Quinn took off for her lab. Leo followed her; only a second behind. They went downstairs and Quinn sat down at her computers. "Well?"

"We got her," Quinn replied smiling. She looked back at Leo and shook her head. "Don't even think about crossing your arms girl. What's on your mind?"

"I need the other Rangers. I can't beat her alone."

"They're not really in any shape to fight."

"I know," Leo responded, thinking back when she'd bright Chris upstairs. "But I have an idea. Just trust me."

Quinn nodded. "Absolutely."

The two of them ran to get the other Rangers. Z saw them on the second floor and frowned. "Shouldn't you be gong to the attack?" he asked Leo as he followed he followed her and Quinn to the next floor.

"I need the others!" Leo reasoned. "Get them downstairs now!" She ran to Chris's room and grabbed the blue ranger by the arm. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Why?! We're going to lose anyways!" Chris told her urgently.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Leo saw Z dragging Jasper and Andy out of their rooms respectively. "Come on!" She dragged Chris down the stairs, hoping she wouldn't trip.

"We're all fucking dead!" Austin yelled as Quinn hauled him form his room. She dragged him towards the stairs. "Dead!"

"You're not dead yet!" Quinn reminded him. She pulled him down the stairs. He tripped a little, an,d was quite literally dragged down the last few. Quinn didn't let up her pace as she dragged him down to the basement. She let go when they were downstairs and stationed him near Leo. Z deposited Jasper and Andy with their group as well. "Ready?"

"Ready as we'll ever be," Leo nodded. She looked at the other, who were all in varying states of panic. "Teleport us now."

Quinn nodded and typed something into her computer. Leo sighed as red light appeared around her. _Please, Lord, let me be right,_ she prayed silently. _Please._


	10. Episode 3: Lead By Example Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode III: Lead By Example

Chapter Three: Leo the Leader

A/N: Another episode finsihed! Hope you guys like it!

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell

When they were done teleporting, Leo grabbed Chris to keep her from running away. "You're not going anywhere."

"But Leo-"

"No! Now listen," she turned to look at all of them. "You guys needs listen to me, ok?"

"We're-"

"We're not gong to die if you listen to me. Understand? Now come on." Leo turned to go to the battle. She looked back and saw the other Rangers hasn't moved. She sighed. She could hear the sound of people screaming down the street. She closed her eyes and played a song in her head. She's had never been very brave, unless she was she was playing music. _I'm going to have to try it without my music this time, _she decided. She looked at them. "Rangers!" she said, raising her voice in an uncharacteristic way. "Follow me!"

This time none of them tried to argue with her. Something about the conviction in her voice sobered them up and they all nodded one-by-one. Leo smiled. "Let's go!" She turned and ran towards the battle. She could hear the other Rangers following her. _There truly is something about having a strong leader and some definite direction that overrides their panic._ They got to the battle scene and she saw Chaoitca pointing her baton at civilians who were trying to get away.

"Panic," Chaotica smiled as she cast her spell on another person.

"Chaotica!" Leo yelled. The demon turned around and smiled.

"So you found me, Rangers? And I see your friends are still enjoying the effects of my spell."

Leo looked back at the other Rangers. They were starting to back up slowly. Leo shook her head, turning her attention back to the demon. She glanced around quickly to confirm that the civilians had all run off. "You're finished. Come on guys, let's do the morphing thing."

"THUNDER STRIKE! STORM WARNING!"

"Red rain ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"Green lighting ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!"

Chaotica smiled, unafraid of the Rangers. "Let's see you try."

"With pleasure!" Leo replied. "Guys- hey!" She turned around and saw them trying to back up. "Get back here!"

"But-but we can't!" Austin yelled. "We just fucking can't!"

"Darklings!" Chaotica yelled, summoning a hoard of foot soldiers in a swirl of funnel clouds.

Leo signed. "Trust me!" she told her team.

"I-I we-we-" Andy stammered, obviously about to break down again.

Leo suddenly found herself being blown to the side from a gust of wind she was sure ass from the Darklings. "I'm the leader!" she yelled at her teams sahe got to her feet. She brought out her blaster. She shit down two Darklings that had grabbed Jasper, who was still too panicked to fight back. "You have to trust me! I won't steer you wrong!" She kept firing and the Darklings started to converge on her. She looked around and as all of them surrounded her. "Thunder weapons, activate!"

Meanwhile, Chris shook her head. She felt a sudden sense of calm fill her. It was like someone had placed a thin barrier in front of the rising panic she felt. She blinked and nodded. She pulled out her blaster and I steered her weapons tag. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She grabbed her fans and threw them at the Dakrlings attacking Leo. She ran at the group as her fans boomeranged back to her. She jumped up and grabbed them. As she came back down, she slashed at Daklings with them. Japser was right behind her, swinging his snow scrapers. He spun them in his hands and started swinging at the Dakrlings necks. Austin swung his hammers with practical glee. He hit them in their heads, taking out Darklings left and right.

Jasper ducked under arms and jumped, kicking them in the heads. He spun and swung his maces around, taking out six of them all around him. He swing them at each other across his body and dissipated tow more. He looked over a few feet and saw Andy striking his snow scrapers though more. The white ranger dropped to the ground to avoid arms and swung at their knees. As they fell on him, Chris threw her fans and dissipated them before they could hit him. Andy jumped to his feet and swung at more necks, destroying three more. He nodded to Chris and was suddenly blown off his feet from behind. He landed on his back and rolled onto his stomach. A couple of Darklings came at him, but two red sticks flew over his head and stabbed through their chests. The sticks stuck out of the ground in front of him.

Andy looked up and saw Leo standing over him. She held out her hand to him and he smiled behind his helmet. He grabbed it and she pulled him it to his feet. The red ranger grabbed her weapons and swung them through the chest of another Darkling. Austin swung his hammer through the head of the last one and the Rangers all looked at Leo. She nodded and pointed one of her sticks at Chaotica.

"It's over Chaotica!" Leo yelled as the five of them approached her.

"My spell is still on them Red Ranger," Chaotica smiled. She raised her baton and pointed it at the Rangers.

Chris and Jasper, who were on ether side of Leo, grabbed her arms. The red ranger dropped her weapons in the shock of the force they used. "Leo! We can't!" Chris gasped. Her voice was so panicked it sounded like she was going to cry. "We can't!"

"Guys, don't listen to her!" Leo told them. She pulled her arms free and grabbed her rain sticks. "Attack her form all sides! And just keep attacking! That's an order!"

"Right!" Andy and Austin agreed. They ran at Chaotica, who still only stared at them. She raised her baton at them, but they dodged to opposite sides. They ran form the left and right at her, signing their weapons. Austin reached her first, and she sued her baton to block his hammers. She swung it down and across his chest. The green ranger jumped back as pain suddenly erupted in his ribs cage. He stumbled, tying to keep his hammers in his hands. Andy took the opportunity to claw at her with his snow scrapers. He brought them both down for, this left and from the right respectively. Chaotica hit him in the elbow on the left, then the right.

"Ah!" Andy yelled in pain and dropped his weapons. The demon took the opportunity to strike him with her weapon in the stomach. Andy was thrown back a few feet and landed on his back. He moaned and tried to get to his feet, only to be rewarded with pain shooting up and down his torso. He fell back on to one knee, putting his gloved hands against the ground to brave himself.

"Andy!" Austin!" Jasper yelled. Having regained some of his senses, as much as he could given he was still under her spell, he charged at her with his maces. Chris and Leo joined him, the three of them spearing out around her. Chaotica pointed her baton at Chris but Leo was faster.

"Chris throw!"

Chris followed the order almost without thinking and her fans hit Chaotica in the chest. "Oof!" The demon stumbled back and dropped her baton hand. Leo flicked her wrists and threw her sticks end over end. They hit one after the other into Chaotica's arm. "Ah!" she yelled, jumping away from the red ranger. This however, put her closer to Austin. The green ranger threw his energy into his legs and arms, and kept forward. He grabbed Chaoitca's baton right out from her hands. "No!" she yelled.

"Leo!" Austin yelled, throwing the baton to the red ranger.

Leo smiled as she caught it. "Looks like you're done casting spells." She grabbed both ends of the baton and brought it down on her knee. It cracked in half and the other four Rangers fell to their knees. "Witch craft is the work of the devil afterall," she said as she threw the broken pieces of the baton to the side.

Andy felt a sudden sense of clarity he hadn't felt in hours and smiled. He used Jasper to brave himself as he got to his feet. He clenched his teeth and ran for his snow scrapers. He picked them up as Austin grabbed his lighting hammers. Chris threw her fans at Chaotica, distracting the demon enough for Leo to grab her rain sticks. As soon as her fans were back in her hands, ache is rejoined the others as the team regrouped.

"Looks like it's over for you, Bitch!" Austin yelled.

"You Rangers still can't defeat me!" Chaptica yelled at them.

"You demons have a real denial problem!" Jasper said.

"Let's just finish this!" Leo told them. "Five weather strike!" She ran forward and hit the demon with her rain sticks. "Downpour strike!"

"Gust blast!"

"Strike beat!"

"Blizz blitz!"

"Downcast jab!"

Chaotica stumbled as the emery from the Rangers' weapons coursed through her. "No! I was so close-"

"Not really," Andy said. "But it was an admirable try."

Chaotica shook her head as she suddenly exploded. The Rangers flinched a little and covered their faces with their arms. "Still so climatic," Chris noted.

"Yeah but it makes me feel like I'm a fucking action hero," Austin smiled.

Meanwhile, up in the Cloud Castle, Hurricous shook his head in disgust. "Despicable," he said, putting his spear up above his head.

"It could be worse," Tornidon pointed out, putting his spear in front of Hurricous'.

"How?" Blizzitor inquired, placing his spear up as well.

"It could've been us."

"If it keeps going like this it will be us!" Hurricous snapped.

"Chaotic energy, give this demon life again!"

"Do you think she'll come back in giant form?" Jasper asked.

"Uh-" before Leo could answer a giant funneled cloud suddenly sprang to life where Chaotica had been. "That's a yes."

"Haha! Now I'll really give you Rangers something to panic about!"

"You wish," Austin muttered.

The five of them took their Zords off their necklaces. "Thunder Zords! Activate!" They were lifted into the cockpits of their Zords in blurs of light.

"Thunder hawk zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder tiger zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder fox zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder falcon zord! Powered up!"

"Should we- whoa!" Jasper navigated his zord down as Chaotica tried to hit him.

"Let's do the megazord thing!" Leo told them.

"Right!" the other four chorused. They turned the rainbow dials on their consuls and pushed them.

"Thunder Strike Megazord!" the five of them yelled. "Powered up!"

"Yay!" Quinn cheered in their helmets. "You did it all by yourselves!"

"Hey Q!" Austin smiled. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about us."

"Oh no I'm still watching. Besides, it looks like Leo has everything handled."

Leo smiled. "Chris, Jasper fire with one switch. Andy, Austin, we'll navigate."

"You go it!" Chris and Jasper nodded.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Austin replied, giving her a half-hearted salute. Chaotica pointed her baton at them, but they were ready for her. The megazord moved to the side and fired at her. She was hit and stumbled back.

"She still standing!" Andy said.

"Oh gee really?! We must've fucking missed it!"

"Focus!" Leo told them. Chaotica suddenly swung her baton at the megazord. She managed to hit it in the torso area and the fighting machine stumbled back. The Rangers had sparks raining down on them. Leo had a flashback to their training exercise. She felt fear start to creep over her heart but she shook her head. _No! That's not going to happen this time!_ She made the wings wrap around the megazord and they blocked the next shot. "We need to get that baton!"

"Then let's grab it!" Austin suggested.

"And how do we do that, Pea-brain?!" Chris snapped.

"Gee, I don't know Princess! Why don't you think of something if you're so smart!"

"You-"

"Focus!" Leo told them sternly. "We need to get close. Andy, Austin, you guys navigate. Chris and Jasper, be ready with fire power. I'll get ready to grab it."

"Got it!" the other four replied. The megazord moved closer to Chaotica, who swung her baton at them again. She didn't expect one of the hands to reach up and grab her weapon. She tried to jerk it free, but the hand held fast. The arm moved down suddenly and the other shot the demon. She stumbled back and the megazord held the baton up in victory. It threw the weapon into the air and fried at it. It shattered into pieces and disappeared.

"You're finished Chaotica!" Leo said. "Again!"

"I can beat you!" Chaotica replied.

"Like I said," Austin stated as they flipped their switches. "Denial!"

"Let's finish this," Leo told the others. They all laughed their fire button and the megazord flew up into the air. It did a small flip before coming down at Chaotica. Both hands fired off at her, and then the wings hit her.

"N-no! No!" the demon screeched. She exploded again as the megazord landed back on the ground.

"Woo!" Austin cheered. Andy and Jasper leaned back and Austin and Chris high fives both hand son each person respectively. Chris and Austin then leaned towards Leo. She hesitated for only a second before high-fiving each of their hands.

She smiled at them. "We did it!" she laughed.

-Thunder Strike-

Later that night, Leo decided to go looking for Quinn. She poked her head only the living room, but now one was there. She wandered upstairs and wrinkled her nose when she passed Austin's room. _When Z finds out he's going to confiscate that boy's stash._ She went to Quinn's room and knocked on the door. "Come in!" Leo went inside and looked around. "Nice place."

"Thanks," Quinn smiled. She smiled at Leo and sat back in her chair. "What's up?"

Leo shrugged. "I was just...wandering. Thought maybe we could...hang out."

"Really?" Quinn asked, sitting up straighter on her bed. "You want to hang out with me?!"

"Yeah." Leo sat down on the edge of queen sized bed and chuckled. "Nice blanket."

Quinn grinned as she ran a hand over the shiny, gold blanket. "Thanks. My dad got it for me."

"Your dad? Oh yeah Z is your uncle."

Quinn nodded. She looked outside and smiled. "Want to see something amazing?"

"Sure."

"Come on!" She grabbed Leo's hand and pulled her over to the other side of the room. They went out onto the balcony and Quinn faced the wall. She hopped up onto the balcony railing and stood up. She jumped up and grabbed a rope hanging a yard above her head on the smooth wall. She fell back down to the balcony, pulling the rope with her. "Follow me." She climbed up the rope and Leo grabbed it behind her. She watched as Quinn climbed up towards the roof. Near the top she stopped and looked down at Leo. "You coming or what?"

Leo hesitated. It didn't seem like a very lady-like thing to do. Especially since she was wearing a skirt. But there was something adventurous about Quinn. It drew Leo to her; like a magnet. The red ranger took a deep breath and grabbed the rope. She started to climb up to the roof. By this time Quinn had already made it up there. Leo kept climbing, not even daring to look down. She kept her sights set on the edge of the roof ahead. Eventually she passed the windows that marked the fourth and highest floor in the house. _This place is awfully big for only two people to be living in,_ she observed as she climbed. Eventually she got to the ledge and pulled herself up. Her arms shook though and she slipped a little.

"Got you!" Quinn smiled, grabbing Leo's arms. She pulled the other girl up onto the roof with her. They lenses into the slanted slope. "Come on, we're almost there."

Leo followed Quinn as they crawled up the slanted roof. They reached a flat plain the very middle of the house. It was a rectangle area about ten yards by twenty yards. Leo sighed as she pulled herself up to it. "That was something."

Quinn smiled as she sat on the edge. "Fun huh?"

"Fun is not exactly how I would put it." Leo sat next to her and gasped. From up here they could see over the forest and the city down below. She watched as the setting sun turned the sky a beautiful shade of pink, glinting off the buildings if the city in the distance. "It's beautiful."

"I know. I come up here a lot. Just to get away from the house. And from Z. I love him, but only having him, it can get kind of make you crazy."

Leo frowned. From here they also had a good view of the two story wall that surrounded the property, topped with slim metal poles every few feet. Each one was around a foot tall. "I've noticed you guys are real tight on security way out here."

"You could say that," Quinn murmured.

"Quinn," Leo said. "Have you ever been outside the house?"

Quinn sighed and shook her head. "Leo...my dad was a power ranger."

The red ranger's eyes widened and she gasped. "Really?!"

"Yeah. More than once. He's kind of a legend. When I was born, he became afraid that former enemies or evil creatures that knew of him would try to hurt me. He's paranoid about it. So he asked Z to take care of me and rias me here. On this tiny island, with only one city in it. In this house, completely cut off from society. I've never gone to school, walked down the street, or played in a park. I've never even played outside at all. Never felt grass. You guys are the first people my own age I've ever met."

Leo looked at her curiously. "Is that why the wall and..."

Quinn nodded. "The wall, the electric fence on top of the wall. The automatic locks on the bedroom doors."

"All to keep people out."

"And to keep me in. It's always been just me and Z. In Thai big empty house with all its empty rooms."

"I cha kind of relate. I've always felt isolated for other people. I was always practicing music or at home with my parents. Or at church. My parents wanted to keep me away from the destructive and sinful ways of the world."

"They wanted to protect you?"

"In their own way."

"Guess that's one thing we have in common."

Leo nodded. "I've never consider myself a leader. The only time I could ever be brave is if someone put an instrument in my hands."

"You're a great red ranger Leo. You're going to be an amazing power ranger."

Leo smiled. "Any other time I would've told you that you're crazy. But after today...I think I can believe you."

"I'm glad."

"And Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I can be your friend too."

"Really?!"

"Yes." Leo smiled. "I think if we both try, we can be best friends."

"Is that how it works? You just agree to be friends?"

"Why not?"

Quinn nodded. "Alright. I've always wanted a best friend!"

"I can tell!" Leo laughed as Quinn hugged her.

"Thanks Leo."

"No problem Quinn." The two girls smiled at each other, then say by side in companionable silence as they watched the sun set over the city.

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: The rangers face a monster who strips their confidence, so Chis steps up to help them recover. Can she show them the real meaning of confidence? Or will they be unable to face their enemies?


	11. Episode 4: Fake It To Make It Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode IV: Fake It To Make It

Chapter One: Losing It

A/N: Hey readers! Sorry for not posting an episode last week. Band and AP classes had me busy. We're back on track now though! Enjoy!

"Confidence is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets." -Unknown

Quinn smiled as she watched the other Rangers look around the library in shock. "You like it?"

"Like it?" Andy asked in awe. "It's beautiful."

Leo and Chris nodded in agreement. Beautiful was the only word they could think of to describe the room. It was located in the middle of the third floor of the house, and took up a good portion of it as well. There were bookshelves built into the three walls that were filled with books. The far wall facing the double doors of the entrance had two tall windows that illuminated the space with natural light. There were four, rectangle tables, with four chairs each, a yard from the walls; two on each side of the room. In the center was a circle rug of the world with six bean bag chairs all in a circle on the rug.

Austin smirked as he flopped down in one. "Again with the color coding?" he asked, drawing attention to the fact that each of the beanbags matched their ranger colors.

Quinn shrugged as she sat down in the gold one, the only one that didn't match a ranger. "I swear it's coincidence."

"Sure it is," Jasper smiled, sitting in the black one.

"Believe what you want," Z said walking, "it's true. So, I see Quinn has showed you the library."

"It's nice in here," Leo said as Quinn got up. She went over to a shelf and pulled a couple of books down.

"I'm glad you think so," Z smiled. Jasper, Austin, and Andy looked at each other uneasily. They were beginning to recognize that look on Z's face equating to 'I know something you don't'. "Because this where you'll be spending around...oh...four hours of your day."

"Say what?" Austin asked suspiciously.

"Everyday, well Monday through Friday, you will be doing school work in here from 8 til noon."

"Schoolwork?! Z, you obviously don't knew me that well."

"How are we supposed to do schoolwork?" Chris asked.

"Through textbooks and something called the Internet."

"Doesn't seem like a very sound education to me," Jasper said, standing up.

"While you're Rangers, it's the only thing we can manage. Besides, it's how Quinn's been homeschooled." He nodded to where Quinn was sitting at a table. Leo noted now that the books the other girl had grabbed were textbooks and a couple of binders. "This is not up for discussion. You will be attending to school work daily. We can't let your education take that much of backseat while you save the world."

"Says who?!" Austin demanded.

"Says the guy in charge."

"I thought Leo was in charge."

Z looked at Leo. The red ranger cleared her throat and nodded. "Z is right," she said. "My orders are that we do what he says." She glanced at Quinn who grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Leo smiled a little and nodded in reply.

"Thank you Leo," Z nodded. "Quinn will show you where the various textbooks are. Everything from Literature and Art to Calculus and Physics."

"Extensive," Andy said, joining Jasper.

"I know. Now, I'm going to leave you to it."

"And what if we don't?" Austin challenged, crossing his arms.

Z simply smiled. "Then I can double your chores. You don't want to spend four hours doing schoolwork, you can spend it scrubbing the floors. All four of them."

Austin scowled. "This fucking sucks."

"Language. How many times do I have to remind you?"

Jasper and Andy quickly jumped forward and clamped their hands over Austin's mouth. They both shook their heads. "This could be a lengthy argument," Jasper told him. "Let's just leave it as it is."

Austin elbowed the two of them away and looked for Z, but he was gone and the doors were now closed. He huffed. "Dudes, I always get the last fucking word. Don't deprive me of that."

"Something tells me Z is the kind to always have the last word," Chris said as she and Leo browsed the textbooks.

Quinn nodded. "Oh he definitely is."

Jasper looked at the shelves of textbooks carefully. "What do you study Quinn?"

"Right now? Uh...Physics, English Language and Composition, U.S. History, Calculus, and Music Theory."

"Music Theory?" Leo asked her, intrigued.

"Yeah, Z said he wanted me to broaden my horizons a bit."

Leo selected four books and sat down next to Quinn. She glanced at the notebook Quinn and out and blinked. "That looks complicated."

"It's calculus, it's supposed to." Quinn saw Leo almost trying to hide her own math book, Algebra 2, and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure if I could leave the house Z would have me tested for a genius IQ."

Chris noticed the self-conscious look on Leo's face and frowned. "Aren't you a prodigy?"

"Yeah, a musical one," Leo replied, opening one of the books. "But when it comes to other subjects...let's just say I'm a little under average."

"I feel ya," Austin said. He put his feet up on a table and leaned back in his chair. "I'm not much the...studious type ether."

Chris rolled her eyes. "Don't compare yourself to Leo, Druggie."

"I don't like your tone, Princess."

"Make me, Crack Head."

"Alright, alright," Leo said, looking up at them. "Don't fight."

"I was just stating a fact," Chris justified. "And don't compare yourself to Quinn, Leo. Everyone has their strengths."

Leo smiled at her in gratitude. "I suppose they do."

Austin rolled his eyes. "I'm taking a nap," he declared, resting his chin in his chest.

Jasper shook his head. "You couldn't be more underachieving if you tried."

Austin gave that a very fake, yet loud snore. Andy laughed as he opened up a textbook.

-Thunder Strike-

"Ok," Tornidon said as he and Hurricous entered the Demon Room. "Before the Rangers destroyed Chaotica, she created enough Chaotic Energy to help create another monster."

"Then let's us it," Hurricous advised. "The sooner we get rid of those teens, the sooner we can decimate this pathetic world."

Tornidon nodded and pointed his spear at the wall where a crude drawing of a demon was. "Chaotic energy, bring this demon to life!" He and Hurricous stepped back as a funnel cloud spiraled off the wall. It deposited a demon with navy skin. Red question marks decorated his body and he only had four fingers on each hand. It looked at the two of them curiously with black eyes. It had no mouth.

Hurricous nodded. "He'll do nicely."

"I am Cautinous, Sirs!" the demon declared, saluting them.

"Good. Because we have a job for you."

-Thunder Strike-

Chris glanced over at Leo and Quinn. Quinn was deep in concentration, doing problems out of her book. Leo also looked to be focusing on the problems she was doing, though she seemed to be having a harder time with it. The blue ranger smiled and was just going back to her own work when they heard the alarms going off.

"School's out!" Austin yelled, jumping to his feet.

"I was right in the middle of a problem too," Andy frowned. "Pretty inconvenient."

"Somehow," Jasper said as they followed Leo and Quinn out of the library. "I don't think they care."

"Nah man they do," Austin replied as they bolted down the stairs. "They're demons. Inconveniencing us is what they live for."

"True that!" Andy agreed as they went into the basement.

Within a few seconds Quinn was at her computers, locating the source of the disturbance. "Got it!" she smiled two seconds later.

"Let's go!" Leo declared.

"Good luck." Quinn put a few commands into the keyboard and the Rangers teleported away. They were deposited a few blocks away and headed for the attack. Leo lead them down one street first and then the next. They stopped when they saw the Darklings attacking people.

"Let's morph," Leo said, grateful for the momentary chaos caused by the attack.

"THUNDER STRIKE! STORM WARNING!"

Now fully morphed, Leo lead them into the fray. She took out her blaster and quickly shot two demons in the back of the head. She grabbed the woman off the ground and pushed her away. "Get out of here!" She turned and grabbed another civilian by the arm. "Duck!" The man did as she said and she shot the demon holding him. "Now go!" She quickly ran to the next one. She suddenly felt a blow from behind and was thrown through the air. She fell on the ground and moaned. She lifted her head and saw a demon that looked a lot more powerful than the Darklings. She saw her blaster a few feet away on the ground. The demon laughed and clapped his hands.

"That was fun! Let's do it again!" He turned his head and saw a man trying to thro off the Darklings that had grabbed him. The demon raised his four-fingered hands at the man.

"No!" Leo shouted, lunging to her feet. She forgot her blaster completely and instead ran straight die the man. She quickly kicked one of the demons in the head, dissipating it. She grabbed the man's arm and punched the other Darkling in the chest. She just barely had time to throw the man to the ground before two rings of dark blue light shot out of the demon's hands. Upon closer inspection, they weren't rings, but question marks. They hit Leo, making her stumble back. She felt a strange feeling envelop her body.

Andy saw this and shook his head. He disposed of the rest of the Darklings near himself and ran to Leo's aid. He put his weapons tag init his blaster. "Thunder weapons, activate!" He jumped up and hit the demon with his show scrapers as he came down. The demon stumbled, then turned and hit the white ranger in the chest. Andy felt several of his ribs break and stumbled back. _This guy is surprisingly strong,_ he thought. He fixed his grip on his weapons, and attacked again. The demon Avoided him and tasked his hands at the ranger. Andy managed to avoid the first question mark that tried to hit him, but the second one hit him right on. He stumbled and shook his head. "What...what did you do? I feel all...weird..."

The demon laughed. "Go ahead, hit me!" He opened his arms wide. "I dare you."

Andy tightened his grip on his show scrapers, but he didn't attack. A feeling of uncertainty passed over him. _I-I don't know if I can attack him. I don't think I'm brave enough...or good enough. I-I just don't think I can._ The demon laughed and lunged forward, hitting the white ranger in the chest. He was thrown backwards and hit the ground hard. He moaned and rolled over.

"Andy!" Jasper said. He ran over to the injured boy. "You ok?"

Andy simply nodded. "Careful, this one's tricky."

The black ranger ran at the demon. He lunged and swung with his maces, trying to land a blow. The demon avoided him though, and even blocked the maces with his hands. Jasper and punched at the demon. The demon grabbed his arms and throw the black ranger he crashed into a mailbox. He winced and dropped to the ground, dropping his weapons in the process. The demon chuckled and raised his hands towards Jasper. He sent two question marks at him. They hit the black ranger who felt a strange presence pass over himself. He stood up and stared at the demon, who laughed.

"Go ahead, Black Ranger," the demon laughed. "Hit me!"

Chris ducked and jumped to the side as several Darklings tried to grab at her. She saw Jasper standing in front of the demon, not doing anything and frowned. _He's the best fighter out of all of us, he should be able to fight that thing._ She threw one of her fans and destroyed the rest of the Darklings near her. "Jasper!" she shouted as she caught it. "Take him down!"

"I-I can't! I-I don't think I'm good enough to!"

"You don't think-" Austin shook his head as he took out three more Darklings with his lightning hammers. "Dude, we're fighting! There's no time to think!"

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Quinn said in his helmet.

Chris sighed and threw her fans. They hit the demon right before he hit Jasper. He turned around and looked at the blue ranger. "Looks like you're next, Blue Ranger."

"Go ahead and try me, Question Mark," Chris said, catching her weapons. She ran forward and swung at the demon. He stopped her first attack with his hands but missed her second one. She hit him and he hit her in the chest. She stumbled back and dropped her weapons.

"Haha! I've got you now!" The demon raised his hands and pointed the palms at Chris. She saw a small glint of dark light in his eyes and two question marks came at her. She dodged the first one, and almost got past the second. But it hit her in the arm, which was more than enough. She shook her head as an uncertain feeling passed over her. One she recognized well. Doubt. She took a deep breath and and steeled her nerves as the demon laughed at her. "Go ahead!" he taunted. "Hit me!"

"Gladly!" Chris ran froward and kicked him in the open chest. He stumbled back, then stared at her in shock.

"Impossible!" He was hit from behind by one of Austin's hammers. He spun around and grabbed the head of the second on as the green ranger swung it. He threw it to the side, making Austin gasp in pain as a piercing sensation hit his wrist. The demon disarmed him on the other side as well, so Austin punched at him. The demon simply caught his fist and squeezed it.

"Dude...who are you?! Freaking Bizzaro?! Ah!" Austin fell to his knees as pain shot through his trapped hand.

"I'm Cautinous!" the demon snapped. "And I'm going to end you!" He threw the green ranger several feet. Austin stumbled to his feet just in time for two question marks to hit him. He shook his head.

"Dude,no feel all weird," he mumbled. He looked at Cautionous and felt dread build up inside of him. _No...No I don't think I can fight him. I just...I can't!_

Cautinous laughed as the green ranger hesitated to hit back. He slammed his palms into the ranger's chest and sent him flying backwards. Austin landed hard and de-morphed.

Chris shook her head as she ran at the demon. _What's gotten into everyone?! _she wondered as she grabbed her fans off the ground. She threw them, one after another, and they hit Cautinous in the back. She caught them and ran at him. He grabbed her wrists and threw her. She landed on Andy, who helped beneath her. "Sorry Andy."

"It's ok," he mumbled, de-morphing. They both looked at the demon, who chuckled as he moved his head from side to side in a taunting manner.

"Guess I'll move on!" Cautinous declared. "So many more people in the city. So many more confidences to lower. Bye Rangers!"

"Confidences to lower?" Chris whispered to herself in confusion.

"Dammit!" Austin snapped as everyone else de-morphed and they regrouped. "He got away!"

"Well he wouldn't have if you hadn't hesitated, Crack Head!" Chris snapped.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one, Princess!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Alright, knock it off!" Leo said, getting between them. Andy grabbed Austin and held him back while Jasper did the same for Chris. "Quinn, can you teleport us back?"

"Alright on it," Quinn replied.

Chris huffed and pulled away from Jasper. She stood next to Leo on the leader's immediate right so her back was to the green ranger. He mind went back to what the demon had said. _Confidence? Is that what he did?_ she wondered as they teleported back.


	12. Episode 4: Fake It To Make It Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode IV: Fake It To Make It

Chapter Two: Shaken Faith

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated this episode lately. I will try to get this back on track! Enjoy!

"Confidence is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets." -Unknown

"So what exactly happened?" Quinn asked the Rangers.

"Um...I-I don't...know..." Leo stammered.

"Care to take a guess?"

The red ranger was about to, when a feeling of doubt passed over her. She played with a piece of hair and shook her head. "Um...no..."

Quinn frowned. She looked at Austin, who had his arms crossed as usual. But instead of standing in his usual haughty way, he seemed to be trying to make himself smaller. "What's going on?"

"I have an idea," Chris suggested. "I think whatever that demon did had something to do with their confidence."

"Really? Why?"

"Because...well look at them!"

Quinn looked over all of them saw how they were playing with their hair, or shirts, and were all pretty much looking at the ground. Andy and Jasper were actually in the same position with their heads tilted down and their arms crossed. "Yeah, I see your point."

Z came downstairs and surveyed them all. "Is this going to become a thing?"

"You mean the demons using powers that cause adverse effects on the team?" Quinn asked him. "It's beginning to look like that, yes."

"Did you at least finish off the demon?"

"No," Chris said.

"Man. Well, I guess the only thing you guys can do is wait until he shows up again."

"Guess that means we better get back upstairs and hit the books again," Quinn smiled. "Good thing too. I was right in the middle of an equation."

"Ah yes-" Austin said, sounding but more like himself.

Chris, Z, and Quinn all stared at him as he didn't say anything else. "Is that all?" Z asked him, confused.

"W-why?"

"Guess confidence plays a bigger part in his personality than we know," Quinn said. She grabbed Leo's hand. "Let's go Leo!" She ran up the stairs, dragging the red ranger behind her.

"Come on Boys," Chris said. "Let's head back upstairs."

"Ugh!" Austin moaned, but didn't say anything else. He followed Andy and Jasper, making a point of stomping his feet. Sort of. He held stopped, half tentatively stepping. It was as if he was trying to fight the sense of caution that had been placed over him. Chris paused at the top of the stairs and noticed this. She watched the green ranger do his little stumble walk as his personality tried to come through. The blue ranger continued up stairs, considering this. She stopped and looked down at Z.

"Z! Shouldn't we be out looking for that demon?"

"Looking for it?" he asked her.

"Yes! Like, before it attacks more people."

"Hm...I suppose that is better than waiting around for it to come up on a sensor. Let's do it then." He touched a button on his watch. "Quinn."

"Yeah?" Quinn replied.

"Get Leo down here, pronto. Chris has come up with a brilliant idea."

"Brilliant you say? Be right there!"

"Why do I feel like she's going to drag Leo down here at top speed?" Chris asked, coming back down the stairs.

"Because she will," Z answered, grabbing Jasper and Andy by the backs of their shirts. "You two aren't going anywhere."

"If she falls, she's going to bring Leo down with her."

"Oh don't worry, she won't fall. She's very skilled at running up and down the stairs. She used to make a game of it when she was little. How many times she could run up and down all four floors in a minute."

"Why didn't she just run outside?"

Z rubbed his head with one of his hands. "I don't think we really need to discuss that."

Jasper gave him a look. "Why not?"

"Because."

"That's not nearly a good enough answer," Austin told him.

"We're here!" Quinn announced as she ran down the stairs with Leo in tow. The red ranger's eyes were wide with fear and shock. She let go of Quinn quickly as the other girl sat down at her computers. "So, what's the plan?"

"We go into the city and look for the demon," Chris said.

"That's not a bad idea," Quinn nodded. "What'd you think Leo?"

Leo blinked. "I don't...uh..." She started playing with the hem of her skirt.

"We don't have time for her to try and fight the spell," Chris told Quinn. "We'll just have to do it."

"Alright. Boys, go together. Chris, go with Leo."

There was some collective nodding and Z sighed. "And figure out a way to fight the spell while you're at it."

"Right," Chris nodded.

"I'll teleport you guys onto opposite ends of the city to spread out the search," Quinn told them, setting the coordinates. "You know Z, maybe if they had one more person-"

"No Quinn," Z said. "Don't even try it."

Quinn sighed and rolled her eyes a little bit. "Good luck guys."

Chris stood next to Leo and the Rangers were teleported away in flashes of light. When they could see again, the two girls found themselves in an alley. "Come on," Chris said, checking to see if they'd been noticed. "Let's go."

"Wh-where do you think we'll find him?" Leo asked her quietly.

"Uh...somewhere?" Chris glanced at the red ranger as they walked. It occurred to her that Leo under the spell wasn't actually all that different from ordinary Leo.

"Can-can I ask you something?" Leo asked suddenly.

"Sure."

"Why-why aren't you...effected like us?"

"Us? Leo, I'm pretty sure you're the same person. But I get what you mean. I don't know honestly. I just...don't do the whole no confidence thing. It's kind of hard to be a dancer and not be confident you know?"

Leo considered it. "I suppose."

"I mean, you go into an audition, and you have to have this mindset of, I'm going to be fabulous. I'll blow them away. But it was always more than that. One time, when I was twelve, I had this audition for the part of Clara in the Nutcracker."

Leo's face lit up. "That's one of my favorite pieces of music ever."

"Really? It's a pretty boring ballet."

"I know, but the music is gorgeous. It really tells a whole different story."

"If you say so. Anyways, I spent months practicing and I went into the room telling myself that I was going to do great. But I didn't get the part. I was crushed. You understand, right? You're an artist. You must've auditioned for stuff before."

The red ranger played with a strand of her hair, wondering if she should tell Chris she'd never not gotten something she'd auditioned for. "Uh...no."

"Oh."

"Yeah, musical prodigy."

"I see. Well, it's pretty hard. I was so upset that I started to think I'd never be good enough. For anything."

"What changed your mind?"

"I was in the studio practicing one day and my teacher told me that I'd been wonderful in my audition. She watched the tape evidently. I told her that I wasn't that good if I hadn't made it."

"Not everyone can be a prodigy," Leo told her, reiterating the words she'd told kids in her music classes before giving up.

"I know. Which is basically what she told me. She made me watch the video and asked me what I really thought. Objectively. And I told her that my technique was really good. She agreed with me too. Anyways, I realized something that day."

"What?"

"That confidence isn't just: they're going to love me. It's: I'll be fine if they don't. And that kind of attitude, it got me through so much. All the auditions after that I failed, I didn't feel too bad. I told my self I was still a good dancer. That I still had good technique."

Leo nodded. "It is important to have confidence in yourself."

"Completely. One of the hardest things as a dancer was having confidence in your body. Skin tights clothes that leave little to the imagination can be hard to deal with."

"The ranger suits make me feel so provocative."

Chris laughed. "Don't worry Leo, you're fine. We can't even see your face."

"My parents never allowed me to wear anything that was tight."

"You're missing out with skinny jeans. Although, I'm starting think you don't like pants."

Leo looked down at her skirt. "I'm more of a dress person." She thought over what Chris had just told her. "So, the spell doesn't effect you because you're just used to being confident?"

"Oh it effects me. But that's part of being confident. You have to have faith in it. I'm sure you can relate to that."

The red ranger nodded. "Faith."

"Just have faith in yourself, and you can't go wrong."

"I don't think that's exactly true, considering how wicked and sinful humans are, but I can see your point."

"That's good. And just remember if you look confident, you can pull off anything. Even if you have no idea what you're doing."

Leo smiled at her, then suddenly grabbed her shoulders. "Look out!" She pulled the blue ranger to the ground as something flew over their heads. Whatever it was hit a building and took off a piece of it. It was a newer building that was mostly steel and glass. The girls scrambled to their feet and looked around. "What was that?!"

"I don't know." Chris saw something flew towards them. "Down!" She and Leo dove back to the ground, and what it was hit the building behind them again. They heard people inside screaming and Chris got up. "Look!" Leo looked where she was pointing and saw that the piece that was missing was starting crumble more. Their morphers beeped.

"Guys!" Quinn told them. "Are you ok?!"

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Good, because that building is going to fall!"

"Are you sure?!" Leo asked.

"Yes! Trust me, my math is never wrong. Where that hit, it's going to comprise the structural integrity!"

"All those people!"

"Come on, we have to help!"

"But-but how?!"

"You're rain sticks! Just combine them into one and use it to hold the building up!"

"Me?! Hold a building up! You've got to be joking!"

"No, it can work. It's made with ranger technology. How else can it transform from a blaster?"

_She has a good point,_ Leo considered.

"Leo, you can do it. I believe in you, but you have to believe in yourself."

Leo nodded. "I-I can try. We need to find a lace to morph." She led Chris to an alley next to the potentially dangerous building. The two of them raised their morphers.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" They morphed and looked up. The hold in the building still didn't look good.

"How do we get up there?" Leo asked.

Chris through about it for a minute. "We'll have to do it form the inside!"

Leo nodded. "Let's go then!" The two of them ran in through the front door and all movement seemed to cease.

"Who-" a woman in a business suit began, but Chris shook her head.

"No time! Everyone needs to get out! Now!" the blue ranger told her.

"But-"

"Something's attacking this building, you guys have to get out of here. Trust us!" She and Leo ran for the stairs, hoping the people were listening. "I'll clear everyone else out. You get uo ethereal and give me some more time!"

"Got it!" Leo ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She didn't know what floor the hole was on, but figured it was somewhere near the middle. She eventually chose a random floor and went in. It was some kind of a board room with people all one the ground near a large, oval table. "Is everyone ok?"

"Who are you?!" a man asked, looking at her in fear.

"I'm...I'm the red thunder strike power ranger! I'm here to help!"

"There's a hole in the building!" someone else told her.

"I know." She took out her blaster and everyone ducked, covering their heads with their arms and crying out in fear. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She summoned her rain sticks and fused them together as she ran for the hole. She jumped on the table as she did and ran across it. The man at the end cowered down a she jumped over him. She took a deep breath, then put her stick in the hole. Quinn had been right. The blast ha debentures woeful enough to compromise the structural integrity of the building. Leo could feel the building pressure it was creating. "Everyone get out of here!"

"What about you?!" a woman asked. Everyone shrieked again as another blast hit the building and shook it. The red ranger gritted her teeth and pretended like she wasn't fighting the urge to curl up into a ball.

"I'll be fine! I've got this!" she lied. "You need to get to safety! Go now!" She heard the sounds of them running behind her and kept her attention focused on what she was doing. _I'm holding up a ten story building with a stick,_ she thought. _Lord give me strength. I need to keep this up as long as I can._

Meanwhile, Chris was running from floor to floor, trying to evacuate people. She stopped briefly to press the communication button on her morpher. "Boys! Come in! We need back up!"

"We're kind of busy here!" Jake replied. She heard him grunt in pain. "That demon showed up again. And he brought back-up!" She heard more fighting for a couple seconds. "He keeps firing over our heads though."

"Yeah, he's hitting a building full of civilians! Leo's keeping it standing while we evacuate it. You have to-ah!" She stumbled forward as another blast hit the structure. This time it hit right near her,e making another hole. "Keep him busy! He needs to stop aiming at the building!"

"I don't think we can! He's too strong. We're just-"

"Power rangers," Chris reminded him. "Protecting people is our job! We have to do something! You can do it, I know you can."

"But-"

"No buts! At least pretend you know what're you're doing!"

"Alright. Get everyone out, fast."

"I'll try." Chris ran up the stairs and felt the building shaking. She looked up and plaster fell from the ceiling. She jumped forward, winding as she hit the steps. She looked back saw the giant peoples of the ceiling that'd landed right by her foot. She sighed and pushed onwards. She made it to the next floor and found people were banging on the door. Some pieces of caved if roof had blocked it. She climbed up on them and pulled out her blaster. She shot the door and heard the banging stop as people screamed. She leaned up to the small hole she'd created. "Hang on, I'm going to get you out!"

She jumped down and felt her confidence ebb away a little bit. _I still have so many people to rescue,_ she thought. _How can I do them all?_ She shook her head as she started pulling at the pieces of material blocking the exit. "I have to," she told herself. "I can do this." She pulled, bracing herself against the wall. She managed to get the first piece down and slid it out of the way. She moved onto the next one, then stepped. "Oh, right, duh!" She took out her blaster again and put her weapon tag in it. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She summoned her fans and backed up a bit. She threw both of them, spinning around to give them more thrust. They cut through the plaster, slicing it up unto three pieces. They came back to her and she smiled. She ran up and kicked them, sending all three pieces to the ground. She moved them away as someone from the inside pushed against it.

The door banged open and she turned to look at them. "Get out of here!" she told them. "Make sure everyone on the floor gets out! Hurry! Before the building comes down!"

"O-ok," a man nodded. Chris turned and ran upwards as the people started running down the stairs. Word must've been spreading because she passed a flood of people trying to get down the stairs. She pressed onwards, confident that she could get people, out before it collapsed. _I hope I can make it out too. And Leo._

Said red ranger was still standing on the edge of the hole, trying to keep the building from falling. She was jolted froward every time another blast hit the building. Her feet slipped a little an she stumbles to get them back into place. Her arms shook as she did her best to keep the stick in place.

"Leo," Quinn said in her helmet. "How you holding up?"

"Uh...I've been better."

"Just hang in there. I think Chris should be almost done evacuating people. Just keep holding on."

Leo nodded. "How do you know about this?"

"Andy contracted me, asking if there was something I could do."

"Is there?!"

"Unfortunately no."

Leo sighed and bowed her head. "Lord please give me strength. Please." She closed her eyes and spread her hands farther apart, trying to keep her stick in place. "Hey Quinn..."

"Yeah?"

"Whatever you...make these weapons out of...keep doing it."

"You got it."

"Leo!" Chris said running in. She went up behind the red ranger. "Are you ok?"

"Sore," Leo admitted, legs and arms shaking. "Is the building empty?"

"Yup. I just did a sweep. Everyone's out. Let's go!"

"This building had the structural integrity of swords cheese!" Leo told her. "Will we have time?!"

"Yeah!" Quinn said in both their helmets. "I just did the math and based on the dimensions of the buildings, you will have around five minutes before total collapse."

"Oh great."

"We can do it!" Chris said.

"No," Leo replied shaking her head. "No-no we're not."

"Yes, we will." Chris out her hands on Leo's shoulders. "Stop shaking your head, just listen. I'm going to pull you back. Turn and run. Don't think, don't question. Just run. Got it?"

Leo nodded. _Fake it until you make it, _she reminded herself. "Ok. Ok."

"Alright then." Chris put her hands on Leo's shoulders stepped back, pulling the red ranger and her weapon away from the hole. "Now go!" The two girls started running as fast as they could. All around them the building was shaking and crumbling. Glass shattered as they ran past glass walls. They punched down the stairs, trying not to fall as the shaking continued. Leo felt her heart racing as they heard the rumbling above them. "Come on!"

"We aren't going to make it!"

"Yes we will! Just keep going!" They got to the first floor and found the front door was blocked. "Oh shit."

Leo shook her hear. "Oh my gosh."

"We'll have tin find another exit! Fast!"

Leo looked around, then suddenly got an idea. She grabbed Chris's arm and pulled her along. "Let's go!"

"Where?!"

The red ranger stopped in the place she'd chosen and laughed Chris so she was crouching. "Keep your head down!" she yelled as the building collapsed around them; burying the two rangers under tons of concrete and steel rubble.


	13. Episode 4: Fake It To Make It Chpater 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode IV: Fake It To Make It

Chapter Three: Confidence Is Key

A/N: Yay! This episode is finally finished. My boyfriend also got the cover photo posted for me. He's awesome like that. Also, Fang Saber: that's a nice idea, except they're pwoers aren't elements. They're different kinds of weather. Anyways, enjoy!

"Confidence is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets." -Unknown

Andy could see the building go down from three blocks away. One minute it was there, and next it was gone. He shook his head. "No. No. Agh!" He was hit from behind and de-morphed. He hit the ground and rolled on his side.

"Andy!" Jasper said. He ran to the white ranger and crouched beside him. "You ok?"

"Y-yeah."

"Dudes, duck!" Austin yelled. He ran forward and jumped over the two other boys, swingin his hammers. He blocked one of Cautinous's hands. He swung his other hand down and tried to jab at the demon. Cautinous simply met this hammer with his hand as well. He lifted his arms and picked the green ranger up off the ground. "Whoa!" Austin yelled as his feet left the ground. Cautinous threw him and the green ranger hit a metal lamp post with enough force to hear something crack very audibly. He fell on the ground and tried not to de-morph.

As Jasper summoned his cloud maces and tried to take on Cautinous, Andy raised his morpher to his mouth. "Leo, Chris, come in." He waited for their reply, but got none. "Leo! Chris!" He rolled away as Jasper flew through the air and almost landed on him. The black ranger groaned. "I'm worried about Leo and Chris. They were in that building."

"I know," Jasper nodded, bracing himself against the ground. He tried to think of a plan of some kind, but everything he came up with, his brain shot down.

_"You can't,"_ a voice in his head seemed to be telling him. _"You're not skilled enough to beat him."_

The two of them watched as Austin tried to get up. The green ranger ran at Cautinous, who simply grabbed grabbed one of his arms. Austin jumped up and kicked the demon, but it had little effect on him. Cautinous fluted him up off the ground and the green ranger kicked at him want both legs. "Put me down you Fucker!"

"Only if you insist!" Cautinous sneered. He threw the green ranger like a rag doll and he hit the ground hard. He de-morphed and groaned.

"Austin!" Jasper yelled. "You ok?!"

"Does it look like I'm fucking ok?!" Austin snapped. He managed to push himself up onto his elbows. Cautinous sent two question marks flying at a building the green ranger was near. As soon as they hit they exploded and caused several of pieces of concrete to fall. Austin threw himself froward and just barely avoided being crushed.

"I wonder if the girls are ok," Andy whispered as he stood up unsteadily.

Cautinous laughed. "You rangers can't beat me!" he yelled. "With the other two gone, you're all too weak!"

"Gone?!" Chris asked, jumping down from a small pile of rubble. "I wouldn't quite say we're gone!"

"In fact," Leo agreed, stepping out of an alley by Austin. "I'd say we're very much alive."

"And kicking!"

Austin grinned as he lurched to his feet. He put his arm around Leo, not noticing how the red ranger slunk down a little in his embrace. "Nothing can stop the Holy Smackdown!"

"Holy Smackdown?" Andy asked as he and Jasper joined Chris.

"It's probably better not to ask," the black ranger advised his friend as the team regrouped.

"It doesn't matter if you're together or not!" Cautinous yelled. "I can make you so insecure, you won't be sure whether to breathe!"

"We're a lot more confident than we look!" Chris replied. "And you're about to find out why."

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

"Red rain ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"Green lighting ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!"

They all pulled out their blasters and shot at Cautinous. He stopped their blasts with his hands and sent question marks at them. The Rangers all scattered to avoid them.

"Don't let those hit you!" Chris told them. "We can't afford to be any more under his spell."

"Let the hit us?!" Austin demanded, emphasizing the first word. "Why the hell would we chose to be hit?!"

"Darklings!" Cautinous yelled. A few dozen funnel clouds spiraled down and deposited Darklings.

"Chris," Leo said. "We'll handle the Darklings, you take Cautinous."

"Are you sure?"

_No. _Leo nodded. "Of course. You're the only one who can face him without having to worry about the effects of his spells." _I hope..._

"Ok!"

The red ranger started shooting the Darklings as they advanced on her. She aimed for their heads and chest. They dissipated left and right as she kept shooting. She ducked as they grabbed at her neck and kicked them in the stomachs. Another one tried to grab her from behind, but she spun around and shot it. Three more suddenly baskets the red ranger forwards, but she landed on her feet and spun around. She shot her blaster, dissipating them. She ducked and dropped to the ground. She kicked at their feet, making a couple fall. She shot them in the head and took the advantage to get to her feet. She looked to the left and saw Austin swinging his hammers with some ease.

The green ranger swung left and right, taking out Darklings all around him. He dropped to the ground to avoid hands trying to knock him with a blast of wind and summersaulted back to his feet. The demons suddenly surrounded him and grabbed at him. He looked around and saw that they'd grabbed his arms and torso. "Oh crap! Ah!" They threw him through the air and hit him with a gust of wind. He landed on top of his hammers and winced. "What the hell?!" He rolled over and threw his right one, then got up onto one knee and threw the other. Both of them soared through the air in a straight line and straight through the demons that had thrown him. He got to his feet and was shocked when his hammers suddenly flew back to his hands. "Holy shit!"

"Yes Austin," Quinn said, rolling her eyes. "I programmed more than just Chris's weapons to return when thrown."

"So all our weapons do that?!" Andy asked, ducking and blocking with his snow scrapers.

"Yes."

The white ranger grinned and suddenly tossed his scrapers at the Darklings. They whipped through the air at an impossible speed and took out most of them. He ran froward and caught his weapons, jumping out of the fog of dissipated foot soldiers at the remaining ones. He swung left and right, taking them out as they attempted to get closer. The Darklings tried to get closer, but he threw one of his scrapers and it boomeranged trough their heads. He caught it and immediately followed with a twirl of his weapon and a another hit. This is such an awesome feature!"

"Says you!" Jasper told him. The black ranger dodged from side to side as the Darklings converged on him. He swung his maces with some ease. "It's not as if I can throw these things!" He was just now getting used to the strange weight distribution and balance that his weapons had.

"Just give it a try!" Andy encouraged him. He could feel the effects of the spell trying to encompass his brain.

Jasper rolled his eyes. He saw a group of Darklings not far and sighed. He swung one of his maces like he'd normally do, then let go. To his amazement, it whipped through the air took out the demons he'd been aiming for. He caught it as it came back and groaned. "The force do that almost took my arm off!"

"I didn't say it was a perfect system!" Quinn told him.

The black ranger shrugged and started swinging again. He took out the demons as they got closer. He would suddenly break his pattern and punch or kick at them. It normally caught them off guard and he managed to dissipate the ones close to himself before they could form any kind of a coherent or organized plan.

Chris meanwhile, ducked and spun as Cautinous tried to hit her. She threw her fans at him, hit he knocked them away with his hands. She dove to the ground to avoid another hit and held her own hand about for weapons. She rolled away from him as they returned to her and she got back to her feet. Cautinous threw question mark at her, but she dove to the side and they exploded against a car. She ran froward, swinging her fans. The demon blocked her with his hand though, stopping her assault.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" Cautinous laughed as he blocked her again. He slammed his hands into her chest and knocked her backwards. She stumbled back and was hit with another question mark. Her breath got faster as fear and doubt started to cloud her mind.

"I can't do it," she whispered. "I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough."

_"I'm not good enough," eight-year-old Chris whispered as tears slipped down her face. Her small hands clinging onto the bar where she was stretching started to tremble._

_"Chris?" Miss. Rylegh asked coming in. "Christella, why are you crying?"_

_"I-I can't do the audition. I'm not good enough."_

_"Of course you are," her teacher responded, kneeling down to the young girl's level. "You are a wonderful dancer. Even if you don't get it right away, you pick up on everything. You are good enough. To be a dancer, you have to have confidence. Confidence in your mind, body, and abilities. If you believe you can, then you're already half-way there."_

The blue ranger shook her head and pushed herself up to her feet. She ignored the doubt that was trying to take over her mind. "I am good enough. I know I can beat you." She started to form a plan and smiled. The spell tried to work its way in, buy she wouldn't let it. "Trust my mind," she whispered as she ran forward. Cautinous tried to blast her again, but she ran from side to side, avoiding them. She brought her fans up and threw them with all her strength and accuracy. "Trust my body." Her fans were knocked aside, but as she got closer, she caught them as suddenly spun around did a barrel roll turn. Her feet left the ground as she spun and hit him with speed and strength. As she landed her feet naturally found their way into position and she did a leap, hitting him with her fans on one side. "Trust my skills."

Cautinous stumbled as the blue ranger hit him. "No! My power is greater than that of a human! How can this be?!"

"There's one thing you should've been aware of!" Chris told him as she hit him. She did a forward handspring and hitting him as she came down, catching him off guard. "Confidence is something you can't just take from someone!" She threw her fans, hitting him again. Now that she was starting to land hits he wasn't as powerful as before. They came back to her and hit Cautinous in the back of the head as they did. She caught them. "There's no way you could ever beat me!"

"You tell him Chris!" Jasper encouraged. The other Rangers joined the blue and lined up.

"Not such a thought guy now, are ya?!" Austin demanded.

"Let's finish him guys!" Chris said. "Five weather strike!"

"Downpour strike!"

"Gust blast!"

"Strike beat!"

"Blizz blitz!"

"Overcast jab!"

Cautinous definitely was too weak to block all their attacks and was hit with every one. He stumbled. "No! You can't beat me! You can't!" He yelled as he fell forward and exploded. The Rangers all cheered and high-fived.

"Good job Chris," Leo smiled, patting the blue ranger on the back.

"They shouldn't be celebrating just yet," Blizzitor said as he lifted his spear up.

"This is forming a very worrying pattern," Tornidon added.

"Let's just finish this!" Hurricous told them.

"Chaotic energy, give this demon life again!"

The Rangers celebration stopped short when the giant funnel cloud came down. They all backed up as it disappeared and left Cautinous, now in giant mode.

"Looks like they'll always make them big," Chris commented as they grabbed their zord balls.

"Thunder zords, activate!" the five of them yelled.

"Thunder hawk zord, powered up!"

"Thunder tiger zord, powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat zord, powered up!"

"Thunder fox zord, powered up!"

"Thunder falcon zord, powered up!"

They all almost immediately, and without needing to be be told, turned the rainbow dials and pushed them. "Thunder Strike Megazord, powered up!"

Cautinous threw question marks at them, which exploded against the Megazord. The Rangers were jostled around as they were thrown around and sparks rained down on them. Leo quickly activated the wings as the demon threw more question marks at them. The wings reached out and wrapped around the Megazord, protecting it from the next set of deadly punctuation.

"Leo, take us into the air!" Chris advised.

"You got it!" Leo nodded. As soon as she pulled the wings back, she piloted the Megazord into the air. Cautinous threw more question marks at them, but she flew them from side to side, avoiding the hits. She leaned down behind him and the Megazord swung on of its arms in a punch. It hit Cautinous, but he turned around and blocked the other one.

"Nice try!" he laughed as he slammed his hands into the fighting machine. The Rangers grabbed onto their consoles as they tried to steady themselves. The left side tried to blast Cautnous, but he blocked it with his hands.

"How do we beat this guy?!" Austin demanded.

"I dint think we can," Andy said.

"No!" Chris insisted. "We can beat him! I know we can! We just have to trust ourselves. Don't let him get into your head again!"

"Chris is right," Leo nodded. "We just have to use our heads."

Cautinous hit the Megazord with question marks again. They exploded against it and he laughed. He went forward to hit it again, but one of the hands stopped him. The animal head bit his hand hard. "Ow!" He yelled jumping back. He growled in annoyance and reached his other hand out. The same thing repeated on this side with the animal head biting his hand. He held his hands close to his body as pain radiated through them. He ran froward to hit them again, but with his hands injured, the best he could do was a weak push. The wings on the back of the Megazord suddenly came around and flicked him off. He flew backwards and hit the ground; landing on his back.

"We've got him now!" Jasper smiled.

"Let's finish this quick!" Leo said, "Before he has the chance to heal his hands."

"Right!" the other Rangers chorused. They flipped their switches and hit the fire buttons. The Megazord flew up into the air as Cautinous got back to his feet. It did a flip in the air and came at him as it came down. Both arms fired and hit him, then the Megazord spun, allowing the wings to hit him.

"I almost had you! I almost won!" he yelled as he exploded the second time as the Megazord landed on the ground again.

"Yeah right," Austin scoffed. "No one can beat us." Andy and Jasper leaned back so that Chris and Austin could high-five them. The green and blue Rangers then leaned back and Leo high-fives them both.

"We did it!" she cheered. "We won!"

-Thunder Strike-

Back in the house, Quinn grinned as she followed the Rangers upstairs. "You guys were great! You're really starting to get the hang god this ranger thing."

"Hell yeah we are!" Austin smiled.

"Let's go." She grabbed Leo's hand. "We still have school-work to do."

"We still have to do that?!" Jasper asked in shock. "We just beat a monster."

"So?!" Quinn laughed as she dragged Leo up the stairs. The others had to pretty much sprint to keep up with her. "You still need an education."

Chris laughed as they followed the two girls into the library. "She's right you know," she said as they walked in. She sat down at her table and found everything was just as she'd left it. She heard giggling and looked over at Leo and Quinn's table.

"They're not wrong!" Leo insisted.

"Leo, I can do math like this in my head," Quinn explained. "These answers are in fact wrong. They're not even close."

"All of them?"

"Yes all of them. Are you sure this is the level of math you're studying? Did you gets it mixed up?"

"Well...it's just..." Leo realized now that all the other Rangers were looking at her. "My school kind of pushed me ahead because they didn't want me to get left behind. And it's a private school so they can do whatever they want. I was just placed in pretty much a random level each year."

Chris shook her head. It was no wonder Leo was so insecure about her academics. Apparently her school was run by people who weren't actually interested in helping her learn. Quinn looked shocked snd confused, but then shrugged. "It's ok. I can help you. I'm great with math!"

"I'm awesome with meth," Austin supplied.

"Nobody asked you, Crack Head," Chris told him.

"Do I look like I care, Princess?"

Jasper rolled his eyes. "What don't you go back to napping, Austin?" he suggested.

"Don't mind if I do," the green rusher sighed, putting his feet up. He stretched out and tilted his chair back.

"Unbelievable," Chris muttered.

Quinn grabbed another textbook and handed it to Leo. "Pre-Algebra. The absolute basics."

"When did you leaned this?" Leo asked her.

Quinn was about to answer when Chris interrupted. "I doesn't matter Leo," she told the red ranger. "You do what you can. Don't compare yourself to Quinn. She's smart in your own right, and you're smart in yours."

Quinn nodded and put her arm around Leo. "Have confidence in yourself."

"Exactly."

Leo blushed a little as Quinn showed her where to start. She heard Austin snore loudly and smiled a little. Chris however rolled her eyes and focused on her own work. Not even bothering to look at anyone else's work as the six teens sat together in companionable silence.

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time on Power RangersThunder Strike: Austin has trouble giving up his old behaviors, making the others judge him and wonder if he's the right person for to be a ranger. Can he prove he's ranger material? Or will the team lose its green ranger?


	14. Episode 5: Green Hooligan Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode V: Green Hooligan

Chapter One: Austin's Attitude

A/N: time for a new episode! Dark Knight: I can't say to much at this time, but I will say that the possibility of seeing one of Tommy's old teams in not completely out. Enjoy!

"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." -Abraham Lincoln

Austin smiled as he snuck into the library. No one was doing school work, due to it being Saturday, and but he did find Andy in there. He smiled and snuck up on the white ranger. Andy was typing away on his laptop, bobbing his head in time with his music. The green ranger grinned as he snuck up behind him and snatched the laptop out of his hands. "Whatcha writing?"

"Hey!" Andy jumped to his feet, ripping his earbuds out of his ears. "Give it back Austin!"

"I just wanna read it!" Austin laughed.

"I said give it back! I don't want you to read it!" Andy tried to take it back, but Austin kept turning his body to shield it. "Austin!"

Austin laughed and held the laptop up. He ignored the fact that Andy was half an inch taller than himself. He kept jumping from side to side as the white ranger grew more frustrated. "Oop! You almost got it!"

"Give it here!" Andy snapped, getting angry. He reached up for it and accidentally hit Austin's hands. The green ranger didn't expect Andy to get so close and dropped the laptop. It fell on the floor causing the screen to go blurry and a couple of pieces broke off.

"Whoops."

"You jerk!" Andy shoved Austin against a bookshelf. "You broke it!"

"Relax, I was trying to have some fun. I'm sure Quinn can fix it."

"You're impossible!" Andy picked up the broken laptop, as well as the few pieces that'd come off, and left the library. Austin grinned, completely unfazed by the events that had just taken place, and followed him.

-Thunder Strike-

Down in the basement, Leo sat on a stool watching Quinn work. "What're you building?"

"You'll see," Quinn replied, not looking up from what she was doing. "And don't evade the question. What's your favorite color?"

"Favorite color?" Leo asked her. "Red."

"Figured. Ok, now you ask me."

"Uh...what's your favorite color?"

"Leo!" Quinn laughed. "You can't reuse my question. Hand me that screwdriver with the blue handle."

Leo grabbed it and walked over to hand it to her. "Why not?"

"Because it's not very effective in getting to know each other if you don't ask me questions on your own."

Leo frowned as she perched back on the tall stool. All of Quinn's questions were so strange. "Can my question be what're you building?"

"No Leo."

"You said I could ask anything."

"Anything pertaining to me."

"Ok. How do you know how to build stuff?"

"Now that's a question. I guess I just picked it up. You spend 15 years inside a house, unable to leave, with no friends, you pick up a few things. My turn. What's something that no one knows about you?"

"If no one knows it about me, why should I tell you?"

"Because I'm curious."

"You seem very curious about a lot of things."

Quinn laughed. "I-"

"Quinn!" Andy yelled, running down the stairs.

Quinn sighed and got up from where'd she'd been sitting cross-legged on the floor. She wiped her hands off on her overalls as Andy reached the bottom of the stairs. "What's up Andy?"

"Austin broke my laptop!" Andy explained, wooing it to her. Quinn took it and looked over it critically. "Do you think you can fix it?"

Quinn examined it as she set it down on one of her work tables. "I should be able to. It doesn't look like the hard drive is extensively damaged. A couple of easy parts, some re-wiring, and a re-boot and we should be good."

"Why did he break your laptop?" Leo asked coming over.

"Because he's Austin. Does he need another reason?" Andy asked her. "I was just minding my own business and then he shows up and grabs it out of my hands! He's a brat."

"Where is he now?" Quinn asked.

"Hopefully tormenting someone else." As if on cue they heard Chris and Jasper yell something.

"Something tells me you may be right," Leo told Andy. She quickly went upstairs to see what was going on. As soon she set foot on the first floor she saw Jasper had Austin in a choke hold. "Hey! Stop it!"

"He's a dead man-" Jasper began.

"Jasper let him go!" Z snapped coming in, Chris on his heels.

"Now!" Leo added.

Jasper sighed and released the green ranger. Austin rubbed his throat, giving Jasper a death glare. "Fucking psychopath."

"Don't make me punch you!" Jasper warned him.

"No one is lunching anyone," Leo said, stepping between them. "What happened?"

"I was working on with Chris on fighting skills in the dojo and then this moron comes in," he have Austin a shove. The green ranger looked like he was going to reciprocate until Leo stepped one teen them mor rand blocked him. "First he kept calling Chris 'Princess' and then he started calling me 'Nickel and Dime'. So I came after him."

"This will shouldn't like a stupid question," Z said, "but did you at least use your words first?"

"Of course," Chris said. "But the language of humans is apparently lost on Austin."

"Probably cause his brain is filled with drugs," Jasper added.

"I'm fucking standing right here!" Austin snapped. "I can hear you!"

"Alright, that's enough," Z told them. "No more arguing, and no more trying to kill each other. Can we go at least one day where we don't have some kind of team conflict?"

"I don't know," Chris said acidly. "Ask Austin. He's the one who starts it all."

"Again," Austin said. "Right fucking here!"

"Just go find something productive to do," Z told them. Jasper and Chris headed back to the dojo while Austin went upstairs. "I should probably follow him," Z said to Leo. "Make sure he's not doing drugs up there again."

"I thought you confiscated all his drugs?" Leo asked.

"I thought so too. That boy has more using places than a chameleon."

Leo smiled a little bit. Then she thought back to the tension between Austin and the others and frowned. "I don't know why he keeps starting all these fights."

"Because he's a knuckle head," Z said simply. "A brat who thinks he can do whatever he wants and that the rules don't apply to him."

Leo blinked. She'd never heard Z talk about Austin so negatively before. Granted Austin was a very abrasive person, but Leo didn't think everyone should be so mean to him. "I should go check on Jasper and Chris."

Z nodded, glad she was really starting to get the hang of the whole leader thing. "I'm going to go bust Austin. Again."

Leo nodded and walked towards the dojo. She went in and found the blue and black ranger's having a spar. She waited unit Jasper had successfully beaten Chris before making her presence known. "You two calmed down?"

"Oh yeah, we're calm," Jasper said.

"Completely," Chris agreed. "So long as that crack-head stays away from us."

Leo crossed her arms and looked at the ground. "Maybe you hours shouldn't be so hard on him."

"Why?!" Jasper demanded. "He's a self-entitled, rich-kid who thinks he can do whatever he wants."

"Leo, I'm sure because of your religion or whatever you want to see the best in people," Chris told her. "But you'd have to look long and hard to find it in Austin." The red ranger rubbed her arms with her hands.

"Want to join us?" Jasper asked, attempting to change the subject.

"No thanks," Leo replied. "I'm going to go rejoin Quinn." She turned and headed for the basement, hoping that she'd handle everything the right way.

-Thunder Strike-

Up in the cloud fortress above the city, Blizzitor shook his head as Tornidon paced. "This ain't good," the tornado demon said as he paced. "They've already beaten three demons and dozens of Darklmgs."

"Yes," Blizzitor agreed icily. "There does seem to be a specific pattern of victory for them."

"Don't worry," Hurricous told them two of them, walking in. "Those power brats may be defeating demons, but we're still collecting chaotic energy."

Blizzitor nodded. "All long as we continue to do that, we will grow stronger."

Tornidon nodded. "I say we up the ante. Throw something at them they really won't be expecting."

"Hmm," Hurricous said, thinking. "Something they won't be expecting. Come! Let's go to the demon room. I think I saw a recent addition that might prove to be just what we need." Blizzitor and Tornidon smiled evilly as they followed the hurricane demon. The three of them walked into the room where the walls were starting to become more full with the pictures of demonic creatures. They spread out and look over the pictures, each trying to figure out which one to use.

"This one!" Tornidon declared suddenly. "This will do."

Hurricous and Blizzitor walked over and the former nodded. "I think so."

Tornidon pointed his spear at the wall. "Chaotic energy, give this demon life!" The three of them stepped back as a funnel cloud spun off the wall and deposited the demon before them. "After the last two demons we sent, there's no way those Rangers can be expecting this."

-Thunder Strike-

"Alright," Quinn said from under the sheet. "Hand me a wrench now."

Leo nodded and looked at the tools laid out on one of the tables. "Uh...there's four of them."

"The small one."

"Right." She grabbed it and handed it to Quinn.

"So," Quinn said as she continued to work. "Tell me more about yourself." Leo shook her head. It wants as if Quinn was asking her heard questions, but she didn't exactly know how to answer these questions. Her people skills weren't exactly the best. But before she could answer, or Quinn could berate her for not answering, the alarms went off. "That'll be the censors," Quinn said as she wiggled herself out from under the sheet. Leo helped her to her feet and the two of them ran to the other side of the room.

"What's up?" Jasper asked as he and Chris ran down the stairs.

"Attack," Quinn answered simply. Andy came down next.

"No duh," he said as he joined them.

"Where's Austin?" Leo asked.

"Don't know, don't care."

"I've got the location," Quinn announced.

"Looks like we'll have to go without him," Chris said.

"Cool your jets Princess," Austin said. "I'm here."

"Let's go!" Leo told them.

"Good luck," Quinn said as she teleported them away.

-Thunder Strike-

Once in the city, Leo felt someone pull her back and onto the ground. Her eyes got wide as a sword imbedded itself in a building right behind her. They got to their feet slowly and Jasper looked at the sword. "Did-did that just-"

"Get down!" Andy yelled, jumping onto Jasper. He pushed the other boy to the ground as another bladed-weapon hit the concrete.

"Seriously, where is that coming from?!" Jasper demanded.

"No idea," Chris said. She and Leo ducked as another sword flew over their heads.

_We have to do something fast!_ Leo thought. _Before someone gets decapitated!_


	15. Episode 5: Green Hooligan Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode V: Green Hooligan

Chapter Two: What He Seems

A/N: Update time! Things are getting tense! Enjoy!

"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." -Abraham Lincoln

Everyone stayed on the ground as swords flew over their heads. The weapons sliced through the air, burying themselves in the building behind the Rangers. They all looked at Leo, wondering what to do. The red ranger looked around, trying to identify the source of the attacks. She lifted her head up and had to duck back down. "Get behind something!" The others nodded and crawled away. They split up into two groups with Chris and Leo going on way, and the boys going the other.

Austin frowned as they crouched down behind a car. He looked through the window and yelled in fear, falling on his back. There was a small child staring back at him through the window. Andy shook his head while Jasper motioned for the kid to get down.

"Very brave," the white ranger commented.

"Shut up," Austin grumbled. They looked over at the girls, who were crouched down behind another vehicle. Leo pointed to her wrist and the other three nodded in understanding. The five of them stood up and raised their morphers.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" they yelled morphing.

"Chris look out!" Leo yelled, pushing the blue ranger out of the way of a sword. It hit the red ranger in the side and she fell onto her knees. "Ah!"

"Leo!" Andy said. He ran to her as Jasper and Austin summoned their thunder weapons. "Are you ok?"

Leo nodded, struggling to her feet. "I'm fine." She looked down at her suit and was surprised to see it wasn't even torn. "Wow. That's some sturdy fabric."

"Uh, guys!" Jasper yelled, knocking a sword away with one of his cloud maces. He hit another one out of the air. "They're coming from over there!"

Leo took off her weapons tag and inserted it into her blaster. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She gripped her rain sticks as the five of them walked forward.

Austin looked left and right, wondering what was going on. He saw a flash of light and swung on of his hammers, knocking a sword out of the air. "There!" he yelled, pointing with one hammer. "Look out!" He dove to the side and a sword hit Andy, who'd been stabbing right behind him. The white ranger yelled in pain as the flying weapon hit him on the side of the chest.

"Really Austin?!" Chris demanded.

"Focus!" Leo told them. "Andy, you ok?"

"I'm fine," Andy grunted, but Austin didn't miss the look that the white ranger gave him. He rolled his eyes and refocused on the demon. It had a body that looked like it was made up entirely of swords. The blades stuck out all over its body, making him look like some kind of overgrown, human porcupine. Its face was the only thing that wasn't covered in swords, and continued only its eyes.

"Haha!" It laughed. "Too fast for you, Rangers?" He brought his arm back across his body, then flicked it forward. He sent swords soaring at the Rangers at sonic speeds. Austin raised his hammers, swinging them in a wild fashion. He knocked away two swords as they tried to impale him. He heard a yell of pain and looked back to see Andy kneeling on the ground in pain. _They'll probably blame that on me too._ "We need to take this guy out!"

"Austin, wait!" Jasper yelled as the green ranger ran forward. He shook his head and followed him, leaving the girls to deal with Andy.

"Darklings!" the demon yelled. Funneled clouds dropped foot solders in front of Jasper, cutting him off from Austin.

"Uh oh!" He ducked as they stuck their arms out at him and swung his maces. He knocked several of them in the heads, and kicked another in the chest. He he swung his weapons in practiced circles, taking out the foot soldiers as they surrounded him. A sword suddenly cut through one and hit him; slicing his chest. He hissed in pain and put his hand to the wound. The Darklings took the opportunity to raise their hands out and blast him with wind. The black ranger was knocked off his feet and thrown several yards. He moaned and fifth the urge to de-morph. He lifted his head and saw Andy fighting the Draklings with his snow scrapers. Jasper pushed himself up onto one arm.

Austin meanwhile, was trying to fight the demon. He jumped from side to side, avoiding the swords as the demon threw them at him. He swung his hammers, knocking swords away from himself. He rolled onto the ground as the demon sent multiple weapons at him. The swords sliced through the air and through the Darklings that Andy was fighting. The white ranger suddenly found himself bombarded with swords. They hit his body all over and he put his arms up to try and protect himself. He was laughed back and fell on the ground as one of them hit him in the chest. It wasn't flying with enough force to stab him in the heart. That combined with the protection provided by his suit, was enough to save him. But he still de-morphed in pain as he hit the ground.

"Austin, you moron!" Chris yelled at him.

_How is it my fucking fault?!_ Austin demanded silently as he got to his feet. He had a sword slice his arm, and he dropped one of his hammers. He tensed the muscles slightly, trying to ease the pain. He could feel the cut beneath his suit, yet it remained in tact. He ran to the side, trying to circle around the demon.

"Can't keep up, Rangers?!" the demon laughed. He flung his hand out and sent more swords at the Rangers. Leo hit them with her rain sticks, but she couldn't move out of the way fast enough. She was hit with the bombardment and fell backwards. She fell on her back and de-morphed.

"How is he not running out of swords?!" Chris demanded as she and Jasper tried to join Austin.

"I'm Bladeican!" the demon laughed, throwing more swords. Chris had to throw herself to the ground and roll out of the way. She summersaulted to her feet and kept running at him. She managed to get close as she wove between his attacks. She tried to hit him with her fans, but he suddenly summoned another, longer broadsword in his hand. He gripped his fingers around a thinner part of the blade like it was a hilt. He swung it at the blue ranger; hitting her in the chest. Chris grunted and tried to block him, but he swung back the other way suddenly, getting hit again. She stumbled back and hit the ground roughly. She rolled over onto her stomach as Bladeican swung at her again.

Austin sighed and threw his other hammer at the demon. He hit him and the hammer came back. Bladeican looked at the green ranger as he caught his weapon. "Why don't you take on someone who can actually fight?"

"You don't know how to fight," Bladeican laughed. "You throw your little weapons around and hope to hit things."

Austin rolled his eyes as he narrowly avoided being impaled. "Kind of a hypocritical tone, don't you think?" He ran to grab his other hammer and Bladeican used the opportunity to throw more swords at him. The green ranger wrapped his fingers around the handle and lifted it up. He hit it away and to the side. He threw both of the we alone at the demon, but he simply knocked them away with his broadsword. The green ranger held his hands out, but had to drop them and dodge in the next second. He fell on his stomach and felt the swords slice at his back. "Ah!" He felt sharp pain shoot down his back and tried to get up.

"Austin, look out!" Jasper yelled, swinging a mace over his head. He threw it and it hit Bladecian while his back was turned. The demon turned and looked at him.

"It's not nice to attack people while their backs are turned," he said flinging his arm at the black ranger. It was the one with the broad sword, which flew off the demon's hand and at the ranger. Jasper dint have enough time to react or move and the sword hit him in the chest. It sliced through the side, making him gasp in pain. The demon chuckled and started to pull his fingers in slowly. He summoned the sword back, slicing it across Jasper's other side.

"Jas!" Austin yelled. He held his hands out and his hammers flew back to his hands. He got up just as Chris did as well.

"Austin no!" she yelled, running to him. She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back. "We need to regroup."

"What I need is to beat this guy senseless!" Austin snapped.

"I said no!"

"You're not the boss of me!" He shoved her aside.

"Well somebody has to be, you hooligan!"

"Oo! Trouble in paradise?" Bladeican laughed.

"Dude, that so nasty," Austin said as Chris grabbed his arm again.

"You rangers are no fun anymore. I think I'll go find some more humans to terrorize! Tata for now!"

Austin growled as the demon spun around and disappeared in a haze of clouds. He turned to Chris, who had already de-morphed. "He got away!"

"He wouldn't have if you'd listened to me!" Chris snapped. "God Austin, you're so selfish."

"Me?! I'm selfish?!"

""Yeah, you are." She went over to the others as Austin de-morphed, went over to Andy and pulled him to his feet; ignoring the white ranger's protests of pain.

"You ok?"

"No thanks to you!" Andy snapped. "You let those hit me!"

"I didn't do it purposefully! They were just moving too fast!"

"You ducked and they hit me!"

"It was an accident!"

"Boys!" Leo told them, leaning on Chris as the blue ranger helped her walk. "Please...just behave." She grunted as she stood up straight as Jasper joined them. She double-checked to make sure they had everyone and raised her morpher to her mouth. "Quinn?"

"Don't worry, I got it!" Quinn replied.

Austin scowled at the looks that most of the Rangers were giving him. _What's their problem? _he wondered as they teleported away.

-Thunder Strike-

Once they were back in the basement, Jasper and Andy dropped onto the floor. Z ran over to them while Quinn looked back over the footage from the fight. "Sit up you two," Z said as he made them lean against the wall. "Let's make sure you don't bleed to death."

"They wouldn't be bleeding to death if it wasn't for someone," Chris said accusingly as she helped Leo sit down in a chair.

"Why are you look at me?!" Austin demanded from where he was standing against the wall.

"Maybe because it's your fault," Jasper told him.

"Stop!" Leo moaned. Pain was radiating through her body as blood seeped into her clothes. "Just stop!"

"Yes, you guys need to be united," Z told them, not looking up from his work. He was sitting next to Jasper, stitching the gash in the black ranger's side closed. "You can't win if you're too busy fighting amongst yourselves."

"We can't win if he keeps trying to chop us into tiny power ranger pieces," Andy pointed out.

"Which is why," Quinn declared, getting up from her chair, having pulled out all the footage from the traffic cams and stored them on her computer, "I have a surprise for you."

"You gonna tell us what you've been working on?" Chris asked, nodding her head at the mysterious objects that were against the far wall and covered by a large, white sheet.

"Yup!" She smiled as she ran over to them. "You guys will need to be faster, and if you'll be going out across the city, you'll need to not rely on me all the time."

"How much have you slept in the last few days?" Z asked her, glancing up. Qui had a habit of not sleeping when she was in the middle of a big project. When she'd finished the morphers she'd gone a week without sleeping.

"Not at all," Quinn smiled. She grabbed the sheet and looked at the Rangers. "Ready?!"

"We're not getting any younger here," Austin pointed out, coming closer.

"I present to you-" she pulled the sheet off. "The Storm Chasers!"

Andy and Jasper smiled at each other while Chris and Austin nodded. Leo stared wide eyed at the five, color coded dirt bikes that Quinn had just revealed. She got up gently and stumbled towards them. "What-how-"

"I thought you could use some transportation. Been working on them for a few weeks."

Leo touched one if the handle bars of the red one, then pulled it back quickly. She touched it again and looked it over as she walked along it. It was like an ordinary dirt bike, except the front of it was shaped like a hawk. The head was as tall as the handle bars and just as wide. The red siding was decorated with rain drops that were slanted in different angles. She looked to the right and saw Chris sitting in hers. The blue bike had a tiger head in the front and the blue siding had wind patterns on it.

"These are awesome," Austin smiled, looking over his. It was green with a bobcat one the front and lightning bolts on the sides. He smiled as he sat on it, wrapping his fingers around the handle bars.

"Definitely," Jasper agreed. His black bike had a falcon head with clouds spread out over the sidings.

"Sweet," Andy nodded, rubbing the top of the white fox head on the front of his. He smiled at the snow flake designs on the sidings.

Leo could only nod as she sat on the bike hesitantly. It shifted a little bit under her weight, hut steeled pretty quickly. She looked down and saw a half-sphere indent about the size of her zord in its ball from in the bike right in front of her seat. Above it was a slot that looked like it would fit her tags. The handles she held were black and had standard brakes on them. She noticed that near each of her thumbs were little red buttons, as well as a vertical-dial on one of the handlebars.

"You can turn them on my putting your zord-balls in them and placing the weapon tag in the slot," Quinn explained, looking at them as she paced in front of them. "They're fast, agile, and can shoot with three time the fire power of your blasters. They're able to teleport you to any location, just spin the dial on the right and push that button near it. I still have to add in the navigation system, but I might just wire it through the morphers."

"Fucking awesome," Austin smiled.

"Once this battle is over, I'll modify your morphers so you can summon them straight to you. What do you think?"

"I love them," Andy smiled as Z pulled him off gently. The white ranger needed to finish getting stitched up.

"I've always wanted a dirt bike," Jasper agreed.

"I've had a couple," Austin said, "but nothing like this."

"Of course you have."

Austin didn't miss the tone that Jasper used. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you're spoiled rich kid. Of course you've had expensive toys."

"You think I'm spoiled?!"

"Of course you are," Chris agreed, getting off her bike as well. "It's why you act and say however and whatever you want. It's the only explanation-"

"Shut up!" Austin snapped. "You don't know anything about me!"

"No, I think we got it," Andy said. "Rich kid who thinks the rules don't apply to him. You don't care about the consequences of your actions because for people like you, there are no consequences."

"I said shut up! You don't know my life!"

"Oh, I'm sure it's so hard," Jasper said rolling his eyes. "Just four of you in that big house. Plenty of food, everyone gets their own room, everyone gets their own bed."

"Yeah everyone gets their one bed!" Austin snapped. "Including my fucking parents!" His statement seemed to send a shock through Jasper and Andy. Chris, however, just continued to glare at him. "Forget this. Just fucking forget this." Glad he'd stayed sitting on his bike, he kicked the kick-stand up and grabbed his zord. He put it in the indent and put his weapons tag in the slot. The bike roared to life beneath him and played with the throttle. He suddenly drove forward and to the side, spinning the dial with his thumb and then pushing the button. He disappeared in a steak of green light, leaving his conflicted team mates behind.

"What a disgrace," Chris said, shaking her head. "Quinn, I can't even imagine why you picked him."

"Huh?" Quinn asked in confusion as she helped Z stand Leo up.

"Austin," Chris said as the remaining rangers followed their inured leader, Z, and Quinn upstairs. "Why would you even consider him as a ranger? He's unorganized, a drug addict, lazy, rude, disrespectful-"

"And yet he stopped and chose to save Andy the first day you all met," Quinn pointed out as she helped get Leo into the living room.

Andy nodded. "He did save my life that day."

Leo groaned as she sat down. "Not everyone is as they seem," she told Chris. "Everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about."

"Doubt it," the blue ranger scoffed, walking off. Jasper and Andy however, looked at each other. The look on both their faces was a mutual one. Guilt. They'd made a big mistake.


	16. Episode 5: Green Holligan Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode V: Green Hooligan

Chapter Three: The Real Green Ranger

A/N: And this chapter is finally finished! Yay! Hope you guys like it. The two songs in this are "Cleaning Out My Closet" by Eminem and "Introducing Me" from Camp Rock 2. Enjoy!

"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." -Abraham Lincoln

Not having any kind of a navigation system, Austin didn't know where he was when he came out of his teleportation. He landed somewhere in the woods and drove between the trees. He wove between them, jumping roots that pushed up out of the ground. Anger raced through his mind as he drove, not caring where he went. As long as he got away from the house. Away from the other Rangers and their judgmental looks. He mumbled under his breath as he drove. "Who do they think they are? They don't know me!"

-10 years ago-

Austin got up and went to his bedroom door when he heard the yelling. He followed the sound of the raised voices. He waked down the hall carefully, listening as the yelling got louder. He knocked on his brother's door, but there was no answer. He knocked again, only slightly worried about the fact that it was the middle of the night. The door opened and his ten year old brother glared at him sleepily.

"What'd you want Austin?" Daniel demanded.

"Mom and Dad are fighting."

"I know that."

"Why?"

Danny yawned. "Who cares why? Go back to bed."

"But Danny-"

"Go to bed!" Danny snapped, shoving his younger brother away. He slammed his door shut and left Austin sitting in the dark hallway. The six-year-old wandered back to his own room and shut the door. He could still hear his parents yelling though. He frowned and got back into bed, pulling the covers over his head. He hugged a green, stuffed elephant to his body as he listened to the sound of the fighting.

"It's ok Elie-phant," he whispered to his stuffed friend. "Maybe they'll stop soon." He closed his eyes and whimpered as tears slipped down his small cheeks. "Please let them stop soon."

-Four Years Ago-

Austin growled as irritation slipped through him. "Where is he?!" he demanded. His dad was supposed to pick him up an hour ago. The twelve-year-old was standing in front of the movie theater, trying to resist pacing. "He's not answering his cell, where is he?!"

"Hey kid!" Austin turned and saw a group of older kids, teenagers by the looks of them, walking towards him.

"What'd you want?"

"You're on our turf," one of them said. "After hours, this movie theater is ours."

"What're you doing out here anyways?" the other one asked. "You're a little small to be out alone this late."

Austin checked his phone. It was almost ten at night. "My dad hasn't come to pick me up yet," he answered glumly.

This seemed to strike a chord with them. "Why?"

"I don't know! He's probably arguing with my mom. Again."

"Ah," the first one nodded. "I see. Well as long as you're waiting," he held something out to Austin. The pre-teen took it and looked it over.

"What is it?"

"Relaxation," the second one explained. "Escape. Crack."

"It's marijuana?! Sorry, but I don't do drugs."

"Why not?"

"Because drugs are bad."

"So?" the first one laughed. "Is anyone really gonna care if you do? Besides us, because we'd consider hanging with you if you join in."

Austin looked at the joint as he thought it over. The first one flicked his lighter to life and held it out. Austin thighs about it. Would anyone care? His parents were always fighting, his brother couldn't be bothered to give him the time of day. "You're right," he said slowly. He walked closer and lit the end of the joint. "You're absolutely right. I will join you."

The two teenagers nodded and smiled as the younger boy brought the joint to his lips.

-Present-

Eventually Austin stopped, moving his hands down to his weapon tag. He took it out and the bike turned off. He got off and sat down at the base of a tree, resting his arms on his knees. He kept his hood pulled up over his head. He felt in his pockets and found what he was looking for. He also found his IPod and headphones. _Bonus, _he thought sarcastically as he put the headphones in. He put the music on and flicked the flame from his lighter to life. He lit the joint a brought it to his lips. He closed his eyes and sat back against the tree; smoking the familiar taste of marihuana. He played with the lighter, igniting and un-igniting it at will.

"Tempers flaring from parents just blow 'em off and keep going

Not taking nothing from no one give 'em hell long as I'm breathing

Keep kicking ass in the morning and taking names in the evening..." he whispered as he sat.

-Three Years Ago-

"Austin," Mr. Copeland sighed as he stared down his son. "You got expelled...again."

"And?" Austin asked, glaring at him.

"I-" he stopped as the front door opened and Austin's mom walked in. "Where've you been?"

"Does it matter?" Mrs. Copeland asked sarcastically.

"When I'm hearing stories about you screwing every bartender from here to-"

"Shut up! God, don't you ever quit?!"

"Don't tell me to shut up you bitch!"

Austin got up and rolled his eyes. He went straight for the front door and opened it. Clearly both of them had just forget the that he'd almost been arrested for setting the principal's car on fire. He met Danny on the front steps and his brother stopped.

"They're fighting?"

"You fucking got it," Austin nodded, walking down the steps.

"Austin." Danny grabbed his brother's arm. Austin had always misbehaved, but lately, his behavior was slipping off the deep end. His younger brother glared at him.

"Fuck off Danny," he said, shoving his brother away. "Just leave me alone."

-Present-

"Austin!" The green ranger opened his eyes. He stayed where and how he was, listening to the sound of dirt bikes get closer. "Austin!"

Austin brought the joint up to his mouth again as Andy and Jasper drove up next to his bike. The white and black Rangers powered their vehicles down and got off. They approached Austin quietly, nether of them said anything as they looked at him. Austin held the joint out to them. "What some?"

They shook their heads. "That stuff's bad for you, ya know," Jasper said as he and Andy sat down.

"I know, but that doesn't matter." He took a drag. "Apparently you guys know more about me than I do."

Andy winced. "Listen...Austin, we're really-"

"Can't say I blame you," Austin continued like he hadn't heard the white ranger. "Everyone always seems to know more about me than I do. How lucky I am. How good my life is. Yeah, I'm so lucky that my parents and brother never gave two just about me. My life is so good that my parents would screw whoever they could find just to get back at each other. I'm so lucky that my own fucking parents would rather ship me off to different schools than actually punish me. My life is so good, that when I was sentenced to two years in juvie, they didn't come and visit me once."

Jasper and Andy stared at him in shock. After a couple moments of tense silence, Jasper spoke up. "Why? Why do you do all of this?"

"To show people the truth. Everyone acts like my life is perfect. Like I have everything. Well it doesn't look so prefect when one of the kids is doing drugs, getting kicked out of school, and getting arrested."

"I'm pretty sure there could be more positive outlets to channel your feelings," Andy told him.

"Eh. My friends had a lot of infulence in that. And I figured, everyone was judging me anyways, might as well make it worth their while."

Jasper nodded. He could understand what his friend meant. He knew what it felt like to be judged constantly. "I feel you," he said, voicing as much. "I've been judged a lot and, well I probably haven't reacted the best way ether."

"My mother thinks I'm a traitorous freak," Andy supplied. He understood perfectly. It just wasn't possible to be openly asexual and not be judged. "People judge me about my sexuality almost everyday."

Austin looked dully at the joint in his hand. "Guess the world will always be a judgmental place."

"Guess so," Jasper agreed.

"Yeah," Andy nodded. "For what it's worth Austin, we're sorry we judged you without giving you a fair shot first."

"Definitely," Jasper agreed. "It was really uncool."

Austin shrugged. "I'm used to being judged. I just get real fucking sick of it sometimes." Andy and Jasper nodded in agreement. The green ranger moved to bring the joint back his mouth, then paused. He looked at it for a long moment before squashing it against a rock right next to him. Their morphers went off and all three of them pressed the communication button.

"Boys, we found the demon," Quinn said. "It's on State Street."

"We're on our way!" Jasper told her. He and Andy got to their feet. They looked down at Austin. "You coming?" Jasper held out his hand at the same time Andy did. The green ranger grinned mischievously.

"Hell yeah I am!" he replied, grabbing both their hands. They pulled him up at the same time he pulled himself up. "There is no fucking way I'd let Princess have all the action."

Andy smiled as the three of them headed for their bikes. They pretty much jumped on and powered them up. "Uh, Quinn-"

"Don't worry," Quinn replied. "I'm gonna make sure you guys don't end up in the middle of nowhere...again!"

"You're too good to us Computer Q," Austin said as they started driving. "You're too good to us."

"I know!" was all Quinn said as they teleported.

-Thunder Strike-

Bladeican laughed as he threw more swords at people as they ran away. The citizens of Cliffton were sprinting any which way; wondering what they could've done to deserve this. Austin, Andy, and Jasper, teleported right into the battle. All people saw were streaks of green, white, and black as the three Rangers raced around the demon. He growled and threw a sword at them, but only hit one of the bikes. Austin turned suddenly and fired at Bladeican as he drove straight by. Andy and Jasper did the same thing. Bladeican stumbled back a little form the force of the blasts.

"Ah!" He fell on the ground as the three Rangers stopped and turned their bikes to look at him. "You Rangers will pay for that," he said as he got back to his feet.

"They all say that," Austin replied, waving his hand. They heard a roaring sound behind them. They turned around and saw Chris and Leo driving towards them. The two girls stopped on ether side of the three boys.

"The cavalry has arrived," Chris smiled.

"You know Leo," Andy said, looking at the red ranger. "I didn't think you'd be well enough to fight."

"You sound like Z and Quinn," Leo replied. Her heart was pounding and her legs were shaking from what she'd just done. It was so unlady-like her mother would pro sky have a heart attack. The five of them all got off their bikes and walked towards Bladeican as a group. As they rearranged themselves so that Leo ended up in the middle with Chris and Jasper on the left, and Austin and Andy on the right.

"Look who's back, the five puny humans," Bladeican laughed.

"Puny?" Austin asked. "We'll see how punt we are when we've kicked your ass!"

"THUNDER STRIKE," the five of them yelled, turning the side of their morphers. "STORM WARNING!"

"Red rain ranger!" Leo yelled, posing with her hands above her head in a poised sort of way.

"Blue wind ranger!" Chris yelled, posing with one arm stretched out straight and the other bent at the elbow across her chest: pointing in the same direction as her other arm.

"Green lighting ranger!" Austin yelled, copying Chris, except in the opposite direction.

"White snow ranger!" Andy yelled, crossing his hands in front of his chest a to the wrists; palms pointing out.

"Black cloud ranger!" Jasper yelled, copying Andy.

"Clear skies are straight ahead!" All five of them yelled in unison, all pointing up at the blue sky above their heads and out at an angle in front of them. Bladeican simply threw swords at them, the five Rangers all hit the ground to avoid decapitation.

"We need to bye close to him!" Leo said.

"Gee, wonder how you could do that," Quinn said sarcastically in their helmets.

"I knew how we need to do it. Shush!"

"Darklings!" Bladeican said, summoning the foot soldiers.

"Austin, I need you to get to him," Leo said. "We'll take care of the Darklings."

"Really?! Wow, a mission from the Holy Smackdown. Don't worry Leo, you can count on me!" the green ranger smiled. He ran to his storm chaser while the others ran for the Darklings. He got on and powered it up. He smiled a drove off towards Baldeican. He rode around the hoard of Darklings that engaged his friends, heading straight for Bladeican.

Leo took out her blaster and started to fire. The other four Rangers copied her, their blasters sending beams of light into the wall of dark clouds. They spread out as they got into the hoard and she kept firing. She ducked and landed a spinning kick in the chest of one. As she landed, she started firing at them again. She fired red blast after red blast into the crowd of demons. She fired at their heads, moving from side to side as she wove through them. She grabbed her weapons tag and inserted it into her blaster. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She caught her rains sticks and pressed them together. They became one and she started hitting them with it. She spun and twisted as she moved the stick around. She hit the Darklings in the head and in the chest.

Chris put her own weapons tag into her blaster. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She gripped her fans and slashed at the Darklings as they converged on her. She hit three across the chest with her left hand and then spun and hit four more with her right. She threw her right fan and sent it spinning horizontally through the air. It took out an entire line of them and came back to her hand. She spun in a circle when she threw her left one. She ran after it, kicking and swiping at Darklings as she went. She grabbed her fan out of the air and turned back, throwing both of them at the demons. The whipped around, slicing through the demons with ease. They came back to her and she slashed at them again.

Andy spun his snow scrapers in his hands as he cut his way through the Darklings. He hacked through them, hitting them in the head and necks. He flipped over the demons as they stuck their hands out at him. He spun around and hit them, again, and again, and again. He struck down demon faster demon, raking his weapons down their backs. He kicked in of them away as it attempted to grab him. He hit at another one with both his weapons. He hit heads and slashed through more necks. The Darklings raised their hands and blasted him off his feet before he could react. They caused him to go flying through the air, but he landed on his feet. He smiled and threw his snow scrapers. "Surprised demons?!" He laughed as the weapons spun through the air and hit the Dakrlings. They were all hit r through the torso and the white ranger caught his weapons as they came back to him. "So am I."

Jasper swung his maces around, knocking the Darklings back as he hit them in the chest. He jumped up and snapped kicked in the chest. As he came down he brought his weapons down on he demon's head. He spun around and flipped the handle of his weapon in his hands he punched the Darkling, then threw the mace in shut right hand. He swung the other one offer his head, then down in an arc; hitting the demons in the chests. He caught his mace as it came back to him. He spun the weapon, taking out demons on as they circled around him. He moved nimbly in a circle as he hit them anywhere he could. He hit them hard, tying to get rid of all of them.

Meanwhile, Austin laughed as he drove around Bladeican. He drove in sharp turns, the practice with this type of vehicle he'd had in the past coming to his aid. He kept Bladeican's attention drawn on him, trying to give his team more time to defeat the Darklings. He winced as a sword a managed to slice his arm. He wavered a little, but managed to maintain control. He turned again and fired at Bladeican, taking the demon down. Bladeican paused himself back to his feet and focus is out his broadsword.

"You want to play little ranger?" he laughed. He threw it at the green ranger. Austin turned sharply to avoid getting hit in the chest. It worked but unfortunately redirected the blade to another part of his body. It hit his leg, pinning it to the bike.

"Ah!" Austin screamed in pain as his bike took a sudden jolt to the side. He fell on his side as Bladeican summoned his we pain back. Austin got to his feet, stumbling a little as he pulled his bike back up. He put the kick-stand down and grabbed his weapons tag. He put it in his blaster. "Thunder weapons, a-activate!" He gripped his lightning hammers as he ran at the demon. He hit the swords away as they flew at him. He wasn't quite as fast as he'd been in his storm chaser, but he didn't care. He threw one of his hammers at Bladeican, hitting him in the head. Austin smirked at the way it hit him in the head, causing it to snap to the side. "Feel good?"

"Grrr! You'll pay for that one, Ranger!"

"I'm not just a ranger you know," Austin smiled as he continued advancing on the demon. He hit the swords out of his way as he progressed. He wasn't worried about them though. He just wanted to get close. He hit another sword away as it flew at his chest. He got hit as one sliced his knee, but he pressed on. The threw both hammers, throwing himself to the ground at the same time. Two swords passed over his head and another landed in the ground it near him. He rolled away as his hammers hit Bladeican in the head. It caused his aim to be off.

The sword he threw scratched Austin's shoulder, pinning his suit to the ground. He realized it was the broadsword. Austin reached up with his non-trapped hand and wrapped his hand around the hilt. He pulled at it, trying to get free. His hammers came back to him, clattering across the ground to rest next to him. He reached out and grabbed one, throwing it absentmindedly. His aim had improved greatly because he hit Bladeican in the head again, knocking the demon off his feet once more. He went back to the sword and pulled with all his strength. _Damn, _he thought. _I really should cut back on the crack. _He gave another heave and his arm fell back with the sudden weight if the sword. He smiled as he got to his feet, using the sword to help himself stand. "I'm a punk. A hooligan. Know what that means?"

Austin ran at Baldeican, moving from side to side like he was on his bike. He flipped the sword in his hands like it was one of his hammers, and threw it. The sword hit Bladeican in the arm, piercing between the blades staking out of his body. The demon screamed in pain as Austin smirked. "I don't follow any rules. I do what I want."

"Nicely done," Jasper nodded as they joined the green ranger.

Austin grinned as he held out his hands and his hammers came to his hands. "I don't think he was expecting to get hit with his own weapon."

"No," Leo agreed. "That was one thing he wasn't expecting."

"You Rangers will pay for this!" Bladeican yelled at them.

"Nah," Austin said. "I don't feel like it. Five weather strike guys."

"Right!" the other five chorused.

Leo ran forward first. "Downpour strike!" she yelled, hitting the demon.

Chris went next. "Gust blast!"

Austin followed fright behind her. "Strike beat!"

"Blizz blitz!" Andy yelled, right behind the green ranger.

"Overcast jab!" Jasper yelled last of all.

"Ah!" Bladeican yelled as he stumbled. "No! Icahn be defeated by you!"

"Well, it looks like we've already won!" Austin yelled back.

"No!" Bladeican yelled as he exploded.

"We showed hum!" Austin smiled, giving Andy a high-five.

Up in the Chaotic Cloud Castle, Tornidon growled as Hurricous chuckled darkly. "Don't even say it!"

"They're really starting to form a pattern here," Blizzitor said as the three demons raised their spears.

"Chaotic energy!" the three of them yelled. "Give this demon life again!"

The five Rangers didn't even flinch when the giant funnel cloud came down and hit where they'd just destroyed Bladeican.

"Thunder zords," the five of them yelled. "activate!"

"Thunder hawk zord, powered up!" Leo yelled.

"Thunder tiger zord, powered up!" Chris yelled.

"Thunder bobcat zord, powered up!" Austin yelled.

"Thunder fox zord, powered up!" Andy yelled.

"Thunder falcon zord, powered up!" Jasper yelled.

The five of them turned their multi-colored dials and pushed them.

"Thunder Strike Megazord, powered up!" the five if them chorused.

"You Rangers will go down this time!" Bladeican yelled as he attacked the Rangers. He sent several swords at the Megazord, hitting it all over. Inside the cockpit, the Rangers flinched as sparks rained down on them. Leo saw he was going to attack again and quickly activated the wings. They wrapped around the Megazord, shielding it from the onslaught of swords.

"Andy," Austin said.

"Yeah?" Andy asked, trying to help Jasper stabilize the Megazord.

"Be ready to fire when those wings open. Aim for his head."

"You got it!"

Chris rolled her eyes, and was about to say something to him when the wings detracted and the white and green Rangers were ready. Unfortunately, so was Bladeican. He had his broadsword back and was swinging it at the Rangers. The Megazord backed up as it was hit on the front. It suddenly raised its left arm and caught the blade of the sword in the mouth of the zord. It then raised its right arm and punched it into the demon. The zord head on that arm opened its mouth and fired a blast of white and green energy at his torso.

"Ah!" Bladeican yelled, stumbling back. The left arm clamped down on the blade even more. As Baldeican pulled back, the right arm blasted him again and left arm yanked the sword from his grip. He suddenly fixed his fingers around the hilt and pushed it forward. The Rangers inside yelled as their Megaord was forced back.

Jasper's hands suddenly flew off his controls as his control panels sparked under his fingers. "I think my zord has been damaged."

"Probably," Leo nodded. "Let's get off the ground and away from him. We need a new plan."

"I second that," Austin agreed.

The Megazord flew up in it the sky, flying around Bladeican like a vulture. He risked his sword and swung at it, but the Mgeazord suddenly banked to the side, catching him off guard. It flew back around and one of the legs swung at his head. He ducked, putting his sword arm above his head to protect himself. The zord head on the end of the leg clamped its mouth around the blade. The Megazord twisted around and suddenly kicked him in the face with its other leg. "Ah!" he yelled as he stumbled back. The Megazord raised one if its arms and fired at him, making him lose his grip on the sword. The weapon was wrenched from his grip and he fell back onto the ground.

The Megazord let the sword fall from its grip and landed on the ground. Bladeican got to his feet, now having created a small crater and earthquake like cracks in the ground. His sword was now out of reach with the Megazord standing between him and it. He growled. "I won't let you Rangers beat me a second time."

"Buddy," Austin said as the five of them flipped their switches. "Nobody let's me do anything. I do what I want."

The Megazord flew up into the air and did a flip. It came back down and fired from both arms, one at a time, at Bladeican. It then spun, hitting him with both wings and knocking him to the side. As the Megazord landed, the demon failed to catch his balance. He fell and exploded and the Rangers cheered.

"We showed him!" Andy grinned as he and Jasper double-fived Chris and Austin. The green and blue Rangers leaned back to high-five Leo.

"Absolutely," the red ranger agreed. "We did it!"

-Thunder Strike-

That night, Austin smiled as he followed Leo to dinner. "Leo?"

"Yeah?" Leo replied.

"Did you send Jasper and Andy to come get me earlier?"

"No," she answered. "I didn't."

"Ah." He put his hands in his pockets. It occurred to him that Leo had never judged him. Where just about everyone else seemed to assume the worst about him right off the bat, she hadn't. In fact she seemed like a very non-judgemental person. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said as they went down the stairs.

"Why don't you think I'm like...the scum of the Earth or something like Chris?"

"Why should I?"

"Well...I'm me. And you don't know me so, wouldn't you judge me?"

"No. Just because I don't know you doesn't mean I can't tell you're not a bad person. I may not know a lot about you Austin, but there are a couple of things I do know about you."

"Like what?"

"Like the first night we had dinner, when I said my prayer, you were the only one who waited for me to eat." He stopped as she turned and looked up at him. "I can tell that you aren't religious, yet you've shown me a lot of courtesy for the fact that I am. I'm repaying the favor. Besides, do onto others as you would have done onto yourself."

"Oh."

"And I do know what it's like when people make unfair assumptions about you," she continued as they made it to the first floor. "In a way we all are."

Austin nodded as they walked into the dining room. _Damn son, I think Z and Quinn were right about that girl._ He sat down across from her and between Jasper and Andy. He frowned at the empt seat on the girl's side, but before he could ask, Jasper beat him to it.

"Where's Quinn?" the black ranger asked.

"Still downstairs," Z replied. "Working on something."

"But it's dinner time," Chris said.

Z sighed. "When she gets into a project, she forgets things like sleep and eating." Leo saw the look on his face and suspected there was more to it than that, but let the subject drop. As did the others. If anything, over the last few weeks they'd learned that Z and Quinn's lives were complicated. "Let's just eat."

Austin noticed Leo bow her head and looked around. Andy seemed to have seen it and rested his hand by his fork as if he was debating to pick it up. Austin elbowed Jasper who was about to eat. He shook his head and the black ranger frowned. Austin nodded at Leo who finished her prayer and raised her head. She picked up her fork and Austin followed suit. Jasper's eyes widened with the realization of what had just happened. Chris gave the green ranger a look and shook her head. He ignored her and started eating.

-Thunder Strike-

Down the Quinn's Lab, she sat at her work table, the five morphers spread out before her. She held Leo's in one hand, working then inside of it with her other. Distantly she heard the door unlock and click open. Footsteps followed as it was shut again. She didn't even look up as Leo sat down on a stool next to her. "I brought you some food from dinner," the red ranger said, putting a plate down.

"Thanks." Leo frowned and hopped down. She reached out lowered Quinn's hands, gently taking the morpher from her. "Leo, I have to finish this."

"I know," Leo answered. "But you need to eat. So, I'm going to sit here and make sure you do."

Quinn grinned playfully at the red ranger as she was handed a plate. "You're just going to sit here and watch me eat?"

"Well, I had something else in mind too." Quinn raised her eyebrows as Leo grabbed the guitar she'd brought with her. "You're going to serenade me?"

"In a way. You still want to know more about me, right?"

Quinn nodded. "I do."

"Ok then." Leo say on the stool and started to play. Quinn smiled and nodded her head as she ate.

"I'm, not good at wasting time

I think lyrics need to rhyme

And you're not asking

But I'm not fond of mustaches

I eat cheese, but only on pizza, please, And, sometimes, on a homemade quesadilla

Otherwise it smells like feet to me

And I, I really like you when the moon looks like a toe nail.

And I love you when you say my name.

"If you wanna know, here it goes.

Gonna tell you there's a part of me that shows,

If we're close, gonna let you see everything,

But remember that you asked for it.

I'll try to do my best to impress,

But it's easier to let you take a guess, at the rest,

But you wanna hear what lives in my brain, my heart,

Will you ask for it?

For your perusing,

At times confusing,

Slightly amusing...

Introducing me!

"Do do do do do do do,

Do do do do do do do.

La da da da,

La da da da da da da, da."

Quinn giggled, almost choking on her food a little bit.

"I never trust a dog to watch my food.

And I hate when people use the word 'dude'

As a noun, or an adverb, or an adjective

And I, I never really been into cars.

I like really cool guitars

And superheroes

And checks with lots of zeroes on 'em.

I love the sound of violins and making someone smile..."

Quinn grinned sheepishly as Leo smiled at her.

"If you wanna know, here it goes.

Gonna tell you there's a part of me that shows,

If we're close, gonna let you see everything,

But remember that you asked for it.

I'll try to do my best to impress,

But it's easier to let you take a guess, at the rest,

But you wanna hear what lives in my brain, my heart,

Will you ask for it?

For your perusing,

At times confusing,

Possibly amusing...

Introducing me!

"Well, you probably know more than you ever wanted to,

So be careful when you ask next time.

"So, if you wanna know, here it goes.

Gonna tell you there's a part of me that shows,

If we're close, gonna let you see everything,

But remember that you asked for it.

I'll try to do my best to impress,

But it's easier to let you take a guess, at the rest,

But you wanna hear what lives in my brain, my heart,

Will you ask for it?

For your perusing,

At times confusing,

Hopefully amusing...

Introducing me!

"Do do do do do do do,

Do do do do do do do.

Do do do do...

Introducing me!"

Leo strummed the last few chords and Quinn applauded. "That was awesome," she smiled. "You should preform for me more often."

Leo blushed a little, making Quinn laugh. "I-I'm glad you liked it."

"I did. And now, I have to get back to work. I have to put navigation into the storm chasers and fix the zords, and-"

"Ok, ok, I get it."

"But if you wanted to stay down here and play some more, that'd be ok."

Leo simply smiled and started playing as Quinn got back to work.

-Thunder Strike-

"Check us out!" Andy smiled. He turned around his newly fixed laptop to show the others. "We're in the news!"

"Of course we are," Austin said from where he was, slumped in a couch. "A bunch of people in rainbow colored spandex show up and fight giant monsters? That's news."

"Not in this state," Jasper told him. "What's it say Andy?"

"Um...not much. Mostly just speculation about our identities and the Chaotic Storm Empire."

"Figures," Chris said. "We've been doing a good job keep our identities a secret."

Andy sighed as he shut his laptop and stood up. "I'm going to my room. Night."

"It's only seven!" Austin protested.

"Not everyone stays up all night, Crack Head," Chris told him. "Some of us do take care of ourselves."

"Come into my room and I can take care of you."

Jasper choked on the water he was thinking and began coughing. Chris scrunched her face up in disgust "You're a pig."

Austin laughed as she got up and left the room. Jasper shook his head. "Why do you antagonize her so much?"

"Hey, if she's gonna be judgmental, I'm gonna have some fun."

"That's not going to make her like you."

"I'm not looking for her approval. She thinks she's so much better than me. But the truth is she's just like me."

"I somehow doubt that."

Austin shrugged and slumped down more. "It's the truth." Jasper shook his head and threw a pillow at the green ranger. Austin sat up and smiled. "Dude, you so don't want to go there."

"Try me."

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time on Power Rangers Thunder Strike: Jasper begins to regret his decision to become a ranger when he begins to think of how he is letting his family down. Can he make peace with his decision? Or will his regret be too much or him?


	17. Episode 6: Great Expectations Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VI: Great Expectations

Chapter One: Jasper's Worries

A/N: Now that I have my iPad back we can get back to this. So sorry by the way for the surprise hiatus. That should be the only one though. Enjoy!

"There are times in life when you must distance yourself from those you love because you love them." -C.C.; Code Geas

Jasper looked over at Austin and gasped in surprise. He elbowed Andy, who have him a look of annoyance. "What?"

"Look," Jasper whispered. They looked over at Austin and both of them did a double-take. The green ranger had actually grabbed a textbook and now had it open.

"If you look really closely," Andy whispered, "it almost looks like he's studying."

"I know."

"I heard that!" Austin snapped. He glared at the other two boys from his table. "I'm not doing it because I have to, I'm doing it because I'm getting tired of sitting here all morning and napping."

"That's actually really shocking," Andy said, going back to his own work. "I was under the impression that you were part cat."

"I've always wanted a cat! Quinn piped up.

"Of course you have," Leo laughed, shaking her head.

Jasper smiled, then looked at his watch. He looked around the room and noticed that everyone was busy in their work again. He pushed his chair back discreetly and got up. He started to walk towards the library doors when Austin saw him. "Where you going?" Jasper stopped and looked at him.

"Bathroom. That ok with you?"

"I don't like your tone, Nickel and Dime."

The black ranger narrowed his eyes. "Watch yourself, Greenie."

"What's you gonna do, hit me?"

"I just might."

"Guys," Leo told them. She nodded to Jasper. "Go." Austin rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else.

Jasper smiled and left the room without any further questions. He closed the door quietly behind himself and looked around. The third floor was eerily quiet with everyone studying. He walked towards the staircase, heart pudding in his chest. He went down the stairs quickly, hoping he wouldn't run into Z. He had no idea what the man did while they were doing their schoolwork, but today was not a day he wanted to find out. He made it to the first floor and practically ran to the door to the basement. He typed the code in quickly and the door clicked open. He shut it silently behind himself and took the stairs two at a time and landed on the concrete floor smiling.

He looked around Quinn's lab, as it had dubbed, making his way over to the Storm Chasers. He admired the complicated machinery of the bike as he took his weapon tag off his neck. He put it in and put in his zord-ball as well. He looked around as the bike came to life, but no one seemed to be able to hear. He nodded to himself and pushed the kickstand up with his foot. He turned and headed for the far wall, setting his new self-activated teleporter to the coordinates he wanted. He teleported out of the room before someone could catch him.

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper stopped his bike in an alley and parked it. He left it running in case he needed to make a quick get away. He crept out of the alley, satisfied that no one in this neighborhood would even come near this place. He walked down the street, keeping his head low so that no one would recognize him. He walked quickly towards Cliffton Heights Elementary School. It was without a doubt the closest thing to an inner-city school that Cliffton had to offer. Having attended there himself, Jasper knew about the poorly funded building. He looked up at the brick building, with its grates in the windows and leaky roof. He shook his head as he turned his attention to the playground.

That itself was a sight that made him uneasy. It was fenced in with a chainlink fence he thought belong more in a prison than a school yard. There appeared to be no actual grass or plant life of any kind, just a jungle gym and a couple of basketball hoops without nets on asphalt. He watched the kids with plain white t-shirts and jeans playing jump rope and chasing each other around. He eyes searched the sea of what he figured was too many kids for the size of the building until he found the two he wanted. He smiled and crossed the street, strolling casually past the fence. He paused briefly as he noticed that the teachers on recess duty weren't looking his way.

"Psst," he hissed. "Carly. Carly!"

The raven haired six-year-old turned around and smiled when she saw him. "Jasper!" she gasped, dropping from the monkey bars. She ran over to the fence as he crouched down on the other side. "You're here!"

"Yeah I am. Is Gabe at recess too?"

"Yeah!" she responded excitedly. "I can go get him! Wait here!"

Jasper smiled as he watched her run off. He stayed where he was, muscles to trained and strong from ranger duties to really care. He grinned even more when he saw Carly pulling Gabe over to the fence. "Carly," Gabe whined. "I was in the middle of a game. What could be so- Jasper!" The two of them knelt down on their side and grabbed at the chain-link. Jasper smiled and put each of his hands on the fence as well to put his fingers over their smaller ones.

"How you guys doing?" he asked.

"Good," Carly smiled. "My new teacher is really nice."

"Mine too!" Gabe agreed. "But I mess my old school and my old friends."

"Yeah?" Jasper asked.

Gabe nodded. "I made new friends. They live in our new building."

"You should see it Jas!" Carly bubbled, "We live really high up!"

"But it only has one bedroom," Gabe said frowning. "But we put up a sheet between me, Ricky, Brian and Carly."

"Gabe and Brian share a bed."

"Bri still a bed hog?" Jasper asked, thinking back to the days when he used to share a mattress with the third oldest in the family. Part of the reason he'd never been too upset about being moved to the couch in the living room.

"Yes!" Gabe groaned. "He pushed me off last night!"

Jasper chuckled. "I take it Brian doesn't have recess right now?"

"Nope," Carly confirmed. "The big kids have recess later. And Ricky is at the high school."

"Yeah I know," Jasper sighed. He still didn't like to think about his brother at that school. He shook his head, not wanting to upset his younger siblings with his worries. "Tell me more about your new classes."

"We have caterpillars in ours!"

"You do?"

"Yeah! They're so cute!"

-Thunder Strike-

Tensions were high in the cloud palace as Hurricous and Tornidon tried to come up with a half-decent plan. "Its not enough if we have a demon," Tornidon explained as he looked around the demon room. "We need a good plan. Something strategic that will generate lots of chaos."

Hurricous nodded. "But where? It has to be somewhere where the Rangers will be out matched."

"I think I may have an answer to that," Blizzitor said, coming in. "I've been spying on the city snd saw the black ranger."

"Any of the other ones?"

"No."

"Good," Tornidon nodded. "Where is he?"

Blizzitor smiled wickedly. "My intelligence tells me that it's a school. The type of place where you'd find a lot of children."

"Excellent," Hurricous nodded. "Children are so easy to cause chaos with."

"If the black ranger is so fond of this particular school and its students, I see no reason why we shouldn't send some Darklings and a demon to lay him a visit."

"But which one?" Tornidon asked, looking around at the cloud walls. "Which one?"

"Hm...how about this one?" Blizzitor asked, pointing his spear at a particular picture. "He looks promising."

The other two generals nodded. "This one definitely looks promising," Hurricous agreed.

"Chaotic energy, baring this demon to life!" Blizzitor stepped back as the pictured spiraled off the wall in a funnel cloud. "Let's give that ranger and those kids a scare, shall we?"

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper looked at his watch and sighed inwardly. He needed to get back to the manor before someone wondered where he'd gone. "Carly, Gabe, I need to go."

"Why?!" Carly asked.

"I have to go back now."

"But you just got here," Gabe protested.

"I'm going to try and come see you guys again real soon. Ok?"

"Ok!"

"Ok!" Carly agreed.

"Altitude then. Behave and stay sharp."

"We will!" The bell rang and the two of them stood up. "Bye Jas!"

"Bye Jasper," Gabe waved as he and Carly walked back towards the building.

"Bye Gabe, bye Carly." Jasper turned around just as funnel clouds spiraled down out of the sky. He scowled as Darklings surrounded him on three sides. "Of course you freaks had to show up," he grumbled as he ducked a fist. He spun and kicked one in the chest, dissipating it. He punched another in the face and landed another round-house. He heard a scream from behind and turned around. His heart stopped and his limbs went still when he saw that Draklings had landed inside the fence as well. They had surrounded all the kids, who were crying snd screaming as the demons kept inching close to them. His eyes searched desperately until he saw Gabe and Carly on the edge of the crowd.

Gabe had his arms around Carly and was pulling her back, towards the middle of the group. Jasper was preoccupied with them he didn't notice the Darklings he was fighting raise their arms. He was suddenly blown forward by a strong gust of wind that knocked him into the fence. He moaned as the metal dug into his skin and he hit the ground. He pushed himself up onto his knees and looked at the kids. He stood up as he saw another demon approaching them. It was an off white color with half-spheres going up its arms, legs, and spiraling in their lines on its torso. Its face had no mouth and its eyes were a cloudy opaque and shaped like spheres on his face.

"Hmhmhm," the demon chuckled. "Look at all these victims."

Jasper looked around quickly and saw that no one was paying attention to him. He clicked the rim of his morpher to the left. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" He grabbed his blaster and pointed it at the demon, but he couldn't get a straight shot through the fence. "Hey demon!" he yelled, getting the attention of everyone in the school yard. "Leave them alone!"

"I'm not just a demon, I'm Bubblon! And who's going to make me?"

"Oh, I'll definitely make you!" Jasper ran forward but was pushed back by the Darklings that once again surrounded him. He took his blaster out and started shooting them. He darted froward as soon as he saw an open space and reached out to grab the fence. He almost made it when the Darklings grabbed him from behind. They locked an iron grip on his arms and slammed him into the fence. He winced at the pressure on his arms and back. He felt his blaster fall out of his grip as his hand and wrist were twisted. He looked in the school yard and saw Bubblon approaching the kids again. "No! Leave them alone!"

"Hey demon!" Leo said as she landed her Storm Chaser in the school yard. She spun a little and stared the demon down from inside her helmet. "Don't you dare hurt those kids."

"Yeah," Austin agreed, pulling up next to her. "Why don't you take on someone your own size?"

Leo looked back at the group of students and teachers. "Get them inside!" One of the teachers nodded and broke from his terrified gaze to start shepherding the students in the building. The other teachers followed suit as the green and red Rangers focused their attention back on the demon in front of them.

"You Rangers are going to pay for interfering with my plans!" Bubblon yelled at them.

"And it brings me such a joy in life to do so," Austin smiled. He and Leo revved their throttles and drove straight at him.

Meanwhile, Jasper heard the sound of fighting going on behind him. He felt the pressure being relieved on his body and turned around. He saw Chris and Andy taking out the rest of the Darklings. "Boy am I glad to see you guys."

"Let's save all the pleasantries until we get back," Chris advised. They heard Austin swear and looked back in the schoolyard. Apparently Bubblon had gotten tired of messing around with Austin and Leo because he stepped back and way from them.

"Let's see how you Rangers deal with this!" He put his hands close together and Jasper saw some kind of substance appear between them.

"Look out!" Chris yelled.

Leo saw Bubblon aiming at Austin and turned sharply to the side. "Austin move!" She stopped in front of him and got hit with whatever Bubblon had thrown. She raised her arm in front of her self and felt some thing wet pass over her body. She opened her eyes and looked around. She saw everything start moving downwards which seemed really strange. That's when she noticed that she was in what appeared to be a giant bubble. She looked all around herself and saw that she was trapped in a sphere that was transparent, and acted like a bubble.

Andy put his hand on his head and blinked. "Bubble? He makes bubbles?"

"Unpoppable from the looks of it too," Chris noted.

"Think you can hit it with your fans?"

"I don't want to risk getting Leo out and having her fall to her death."

"That's a good point- Austin don't!"

The green ranger had apparently decided he was going to take Bubblon on by himself because he drove straight at the demon. Bubblon laughed and thrust his hands outwards. Austin drove straight into a bubble that Bubblon threw at him. He found himself driving around in a circle in the sphere. As he did the bubble started to rise.

"Of carouse he got trapped to, idiot," Chris said.

"What'd we do?" Jasper asked.

"Haha!" Bubblon laughed. "Now to find more things to trap!" He created a big bubble around himself and bounced away.

"Seriously, where do they find these guys?" Andy asked.

"Maybe they have a 'How to Create Pathetic Monsters' book," Chris said as she and the white ranger got back on their bikes. She looked at Jasper. "Show us here you his your bike. We need to get back!"

"Z is not happy with you," Andy added. "Very extremely not happy."

Jasper sighed and nodded. "It's this way. Come on."


	18. Episode 6: Great Expectations Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VI: Great Expectations

Chapter Two: A Tricky Situation

A/N: And we've got another chapter! I'm going to try to finish this episode today. I'll do my best. Enjoy!

"There are times in life when you must distance yourself from those you love because you love them." -C.C.; Code Geas

Once they were back in the manor, the three remaining Rangers de-morphed and parked their bikes. "Quinn," Chris said. "We have a problem."

"You're telling me," Quinn said. "There were no cameras anywhere there. I couldn't see what was going on in the fight."

"Besides the fact that those demons have sunk so low they were attack kids," Andy remarked as they walked over to her. "Austin and Leo are currently trapped in giant bubbles."

"Bubbles?"

"Bubbles."

"Where are they now?"

"We don't know," Chris admitted.

"Well, I'll start trying to track them," Quinn told them as she turned back to her computers. "Why giant bubbles?"

"Because who said that the demons were smart?" Andy asked.

"Good point."

"Jasper!" Z said, coming downstairs.

"Busted."

"Shut up," Jasper said to him. He looked at Z and saw how angry he was. "Look I know I'm in trouble-"

"You'd better believe it. Obviously I didn't make myself clear before. All three of you, upstairs now."

"Wait, why all of us?" Andy asked. "Jasper's the one who-"

"All three of you, upstairs now."

"Come on," Chris told them. She gave them a look that suggested they stop arguing and walked towards the stairs. Andy and Jasper followed, the latter wondering how much trouble he was in exactly. They went upstairs, leaving Quinn alone to track down their missing friends.

"Living room," Z told them. They walked into the living and all sat down. Z sighed as he paced a little bit. "Jasper, please explain what possible reason you could have for breaking what I literally is one of the most important rules?"

"I just wanted to check on my siblings," Jasper said.

"Why? I'm sure they're fine. It's not as if-"

"As if what?!"

"Alright, alright," Chris interrupted. "I don't think having an argument is going to help us here."

"No it's not," Z agreed. "I thought that you understood why we have to limit your interactions with your families."

"Wait families?" Andy asked. "Plural? He's the only who's broke the rule so far."

"Thanks man," Jasper responded sarcastically.

"My point is," Z continued. "This issue is more serious than you think. The demons attacked that school because Jasper was there. There more you're around your families that greater danger you pose to them." He sighed as if he was thinking. He suddenly went to the doorway and looked in the hall. Chris, Jasper, and Andy gave each other looks. They watched as he sat down on one of the love seats. "You guys know about Quinn's dad right?"

"He was a power ranger, right?" Chris asked.

"Yes. More than once. I know what you guys, especially Austin, think about mine and Quinn's living arrangements-"

"You mean how absurdly insane it is?" Jasper suggested.

"We do it because it's to keep Quinn safe."

"From what?" Andy asked. "Power rangers defeat villains, don't they? So her dad should have nothing to worry about."

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"For the reason that I've been telling you. Look, I wasn't really around while Tommy was a ranger. During that time he saw quite a few people he cares about get hurt. Not just his friends on his team, but other kids he hung out with. His friends' parents. Even his birth brother was used against him. A villain doesn't care if someone doesn't know you're a ranger. They're automatically guilty by association as far as evil is concerned. Which is what Quinn is in danger of. The closer you are to a ranger, as a non-ranger, the more dangerous life gets. And Quinn as about as close to a ranger as you can get.

"When she was born, Tommy and her mom definitely didn't plan on her. He was shocked when he found out. Her mom was well...she also used to be a power ranger and she wasn't at a place in life where she was ready for Quinn. Tommy loves Quinn more than he loves life itself. She's his entire world now. And if anything were to happen to her, he would never be able to live with himself. I know it's hard for him and Quinn to be apart, just likes it's hard for you to be away form your families. But sometimes, but as a ranger, you have to make sacrifices."

Chris and Andy nodded. Jasper, however, simply shook his head. He stood up and walked out of the room with out saying a word. "I'll talk to him," Andy said, following.

"Z," Chris said.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Z nodded. "Does Quinn know her mom?"

Z shook his head. "No she doesn't. Part of Quinn's dad bringing her back to California was that her mom decided not to see her."

"Why?"

"I believe it had something to do with the fact that her mom was engaged to another man."

"That would probably do it. I uh...won't tell Quinn anything that you told us."

"Good."

"I wonder how Leo and Austin are holding up."

Z chuckled. "Probably ok."

"I hope so."

-Thunder Strike-

Leo tried to remain motionless on her bike as she floated above the city. She had one foot down to keep herself balanced, hands on her handlebars. "Hey Leo!" The red ranger looked to her left and saw Austin floating next to her.

"You doing ok Austin?"

"Oh yeah..."

Leo raised her eyebrows at the tone of his voice. "You don't sound ok."

"I am!" Austin had his handle bars in a death grip. "I-I'm..."

"Are you-"

"I'm not scared!"

Leo blinked. _So that's what's wrong. _"I never said you were."

"Oh. You-you'd didn't?"

"No. Hey. Austin!" The green ranger stopped looking at the city spread out below him and looked at Leo. "Keep you eyes on me. Ok?" Austin nodded stiffly. "I didn't know you were scared of heights."

"I'm not! I'm just...nervous about being in a giant bubble that's floating aimlessly above the city."

"Just try not to think about."

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?!" Leo thought about it then smiled. She stood up in her bubble and, keeping her hands on her bike so it wouldn't fall over, she threw herself into the side. The momentum of it knocked her bubble into Austin's and hit him. Austin felt his heart leap into his throat as he was bounced off Leo. He heard the red ranger laughing and smiled. "Oh so that's how you want to play it, huh?" Austin rested his bike against the opposite side of the bubble and threw himself at the aide closest to Leo. He moved in jerking motions as he got closer and rammed back into her. Leo smiled as she was bumped away from him.

She fixed her bike the same we Austin had and had just enough time to brace herself as he hit her again. She laughed as she flew a few yards across the sky. She noticed that Austin was no longer as rigid as he had been and was laughing as well. She smiled and pushed her bubble back towards him, determined to keep him distracted until the other Rangers found a way to get game out of their predicament.

-Thunder Strike-

Andy found Jasper in his room, sulking on his bed. The white ranger hesitated in the doorway. "Jasper?"

"Go away," Jasper said, not even bothering to look back. "I don't want to talk." Andy walked into the room anyways and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I said I-"

"Don't want to talk yeah, I got it. But you kind of should. I mean...it's just us so we might as well be honest with each other."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Look, I know how you feel-"

"Do you really? Do you have siblings?"

Andy sighed and nodded. "I do. Two younger sisters. Look, I really do get it. I would give anything to be able to go check on my siblings and make sure they're ok. But I can't. I know it's hard. But hey, at least when you can still talk to yours if you call or write them."

"And you can't?" Jasper asked him. He saw Andy glance down and knew this conversation had struck a nerve. "Andy, where are your sisters?"

"In Florida with my mom."

"Florida?!"

"Yeah. When my parents got divorced my mom got custody of Sally and April. She married the guy she'd been cheating on my dad with and they moved to Miami."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"Do you call them or anything?"

"No. I try, but if anyone but one of them picks up someone ether hangs up, or tells me tenure not home. And even when they pick up, they have to go a couple of minutes later. Me and April have been secretly talking by email a little bit though. You don't want to hear about my screwed up family though. Just know that, I know it's tough not being able to see the people you love or have steady contact with them. But we're doing something here that's bigger than all of us. And you can't do more right by your family than creating a world that's safe for them to live in."

Jasper nodded. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I mean...I shoutout have snuck out. They could've gotten hurt and it would've been my fault." He snorted. "Really outs Quinn's life in perspective, doesn't it?"

"You have no idea." Their morphers chirped as the alarms went off in the house. "Looks like Quinn found the monster."

"Let's hope Leo and Austin are ok," Jasper said as he stood up with Andy.

"Knowing Austin he's probably cussing up a storm and Leo's probably terrified."

"Yeah," Jasper agreed as they teleported down to Quinn's Lab.


	19. Episode 6: Great Expectations Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VI: Great Expectations

Chapter Three: Rangers Sacrifice

A/N: hello my readers! Sorry about not updating this sooner, but i was without the wifi. But here's the last chapter of the episode! Enjoy!

"There are times in life when you must distance yourself from those you love because you love them." -C.C.; Code Geas

Jasper, Chris, and Andy teleported down to to the battle on their bikes; zipping through the streets of the city at top speed. They wove their way between cars with semi-ease. They found Bubblon trapping more people in giant bubbles. Luckily said civilians were a little too preoccupied with their predicaments to notice the three teenagers as they stopped their storm chasers.

"Hey Bubblon!" Jasper yelled. The demon turned and looked at him. "You and me got some unfinished business!"

"Who do you think you are little ranger?!" Bubblon demanded.

"Who do you think you are attacking innocent and defenseless kids?!"

"Just when we thought you creeps couldn't sink any lower," Chris commented.

"You're gonna learn why you don't mess with people we love!" Andy yelled.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" The three of them morphed and Bubblon laughed.

"You Rangers don't scare me!" He raised one of his hands and the giant bubbles suddenly descended and came at the Rangers.

"Scatter!" Chris yelled as the three of them split up. The blue ranger sprinted from one side to the other to avoid the giant bubbles that tried to trap her. She saw Andy hit the ground and roll as one of the bubbles off the ground. He summersaulted forward as another almost crushed him. Jasper grabbed his blaster and aimed it at Bubblin as he ran around the bubbles. He shot at the demon, but Bubblon simply moved one of the bubbles in front of himself. The shot bounced right off and ricocheted into Andy. The white ranger was momentarily stopped and a bubble hit him. It sent him flying into another bubble, which caused him to flip over in the air and land on his back.

Chris grabbed her blaster as well and attempted to shot Bubblon. She fried off three shots, but all of them were blocked. She had to throw herself to the side to avoid getting hit with her own weapon blasts. She saw the storm chasers and smiled. She got up and made a mad dash for them. Bubblon saw where she was going to and sent more trapped people in bubbles at her. Jasper saw her as well and ran after her. He stopped momentarily to pull Andy to his feet and the white ranger followed their lead was well. The three of them hopped on their bikes and started the up.

"Let's see if this evens things out," Jasper smiled as the three of them drove at Bubblon. He wove around the bubbles that bounced towards him. It wasn't unlike when they'd been going through traffic earlier. He started firing at Bubblon, attempting to draw the demon's attention. His plan worked and Bubblin turned all his attention to the black ranger. Andy and Chris nodded at each other and took the opportunity to go straight at him. They fired and hit Bubblon in the back.

"Ah!" he yowled jumping. "Let's see how you Rangers like this!" He suddenly threw his hands out by his sides and a giant dome-shaped-bubble appeared around him. "Now you Rangers can't hit me!"

"A force field?! Seriously?!" Andy demanded as he continued firing. His shots bounced off the dome and back at him. He turned sharply to the left, almost falling over. "That's so not fair!"

"I was we had Leo and Austin!" Chris said as she continued to fire as well. Her shots came back at her and she banked to one side.

"Well they're currently enjoying a bird's eye view of the city," Jasper said. (All thanks to me.) He drove at Bubblon, thinking that he could try to break through the bubble. All he succeeded in doing though, was getting bounced off and almost crashing. He managed to get up with his bike and sighed. "We're not getting through this bubble!"

"We need to distact him somehow," Chris said as they regrouped. "Get him to drop his guard somehow."

"Maybe we need to annoy him somehow."

"Where's Austin when you need him?" Andy asked.

"How about you two distract him and I'll injure him enough to keep him from fighting."

"Done!" Chris and Andy nodded. The two of them rode towards Bubblon, switching sides at the last minute to catch him off guard.

"I've got an idea!" Andy told Chris. "It's crazy though!"

"Well we don't have any other ideas so it can't be that bad!"

"Ok! Hey Bubblon!" Andy yelled, driving around the demon. "Bet you can't trap us!" He drove close to the demon to taunt him. "You've probably used up all your ability to trap people!"

"Yeah!" Chris agreed, copying Andy. "I bet that's why he's hiding behind his force field. He doesn't have the energy to beat us!" Jasper hoped that the demon wouldn't figure out that they were baiting him. Apparently he was just as unintelligent as all the other demons that got sent their way because he was getting annoyed with the blue and white Rangers.

"I can too take you on!" Bubblon snapped.

Jasper noticed that his force field seemed to be wavering. He smiled and slipped off his bike. "Thunder weapons, activate!" He summoned his cloud maces and found himself surrounded by Darklings. "I've got a score to settle with you guys too." He whipped and spun, move himself in-between the foot soldiers. He hit one in the head, at the same time he hit another in the chest. He saw Andy and Chris driving in random loops around Bubblon. He spun around and hit two mor Darklings, powering through their line. He hit another in the chest and whipped one of his maces at the demons. It spun through the air and took out several of them at once. He flipped over the remaining ones and caught his mace. As he spun around, he threw the other, taking out the rest of them.

Chris swerved to the side suddenly as Bubblon threw a bubble at her. She almost lost control and just barely managed to keep herself upright. "Any time now Jas!"

"Yeah!" Andy agreed, going from one direction directly into another to avoid getting hit. "I don't know how much longer we can keep playing avoid the bubbles!"

Jasper sighed and ran towards the demon. He threw his maces, one at a time, a head of himself. They hit Bubblonnin the back, one after another. He was knocked off balance slightly and turned to Jasper. Andy hopped off his bike quickly and put his weapons tag into his blaster. "Thunder weapons, activate!" He attacked Bubblon from behind and slashed at him with both snow scrapers. The demon turned and hit him, making him stumble back.

"Thunder weapons," Chris yelled. "activate!" She threw her fans and hit Bubblon in the face.

"Ah! My face!" he yelled putting his hands over his face.

"This is for threatening those kids!" Jasper snapped as he hit the demon with both his maces. He regrouped with Chris and Andy and the three of them started spinning their weapons. "Three weather strike!"

"Gust Blast!"

"Blizz Blitz!"

"Downcast Jab!" Jasper made sure to hit with all the strength he had. He smiled as Bubblon stumbled as energy hit him.

"I was hoping you'd pop," Andy smiled.

"Argh! Your Rangers can't beat me!" Bubblon yelled as he exploded.

"Already have," Jasper nodded.

"Austin and Leo!" Chris said suddenly. "What happened to them?!"

"I hope they're ok," Andy began. The three of them stumbled back a little but as a giant funnel cloud appeared and bring Bubblon back a lot bigger than before.

"Looks like we have problems of our own," Jasper said as the three of them grabbed their zord-balls.

"Thunder zords, activate!"

"Thunder tiger zord, powered up!"

"Thunder fox zord, powered up!"

"Thunder falcon zord, powered up!"

_I hope Leo and Austin are ok,_ Jasper thought as he flew his zord at Bubblon.

-Thunder Strike-

"Hey Leo," Austin said after a while. The two of them had stopped playing bumper bubbles a while ago.

"Yeah?" Leo replied.

"How much longer do you think it'll be until someone finds us?"

"Uhm..."

"Leo?! Austin?!" Quinn said through morphers.

"We're here Quinn," Leo said.

"I'm so glad I found you guys!"

"How's everyone else?"

"I think we should be more worried about ourselves," Austin pointed out.

"Good luck with that Austin," Quinn replied. "They're fine. They're fighting Bubblon as we speak. Once he's defeated you guys should be free."

"Good to know."

"Uh...Quinn," Leo said, thinking of something.

"What?"

"We're going to be on the ground and not a couple hundred feet in the air when the bubbles are gone, right?"

"That's...a really good question."

"Aw shit!" Austin swore. "We're going to fucking die!"

"Not quite," Leo told him. "I have a plan. When the bubbles are gone, summon your zord."

"Alright." Austin wasn't too keen on the odds of their situation, but he trusted Leo.

"Hang in there guys," Quinn assured them.

"I hope-ah!" Austin suddenly fell as his bubble popped. Leo's bubble popped as well as the two of them plummeted towards the ground. He grabbed his zord from around his he his storm chaser teleported away. "Thunder zord, activate!"

"Thunder zord, activate!" Leo yelled. Five seconds later she found herself landing inside the cockpit of her zord. "Thunder hawk zord, powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat zord, powered up!" Austin yelled as he landed in his own cockpit. He sighed a deep sigh of relief when he had his zord under his control. "Thank fucking God!"

"Uh..." Leo said. "You shouldn't take the Lord's name in vain. Especially if you use a curse."

"Sorry Leo," Austin apologized. "Whoa, I see a giant demon."

Leo nodded. "Looks...north of us."

"I was going for on the right. But ok."

Leo smiled as she and Austin headed for the battle. Meanwhile, the other three Rangers were struggling to keep their zords going. Andy was thrown back in his seat as Bubblon kept him at bay. He put his hands back in the controls and tried to fire off his shots. "I'm not making. A lot of headway here guys!"

"Whoa!" Jasper yelled. He'd flown his zord down at Bubblon and was bounced off when the demon created another dome shaped force field. He steadied it as his hawk tucked beak over tail. He blinked. "Oh man that made me dizzy!"

"We can take him!" Chris assured them as she piloted her zord forward. "We just have to hold up until Leo and Austin get here! They must be free of their bubbles by now!" She piloted her zord towards Bubblon, trying to break through his force field.

"Chris, let's try to concentrate our attacks together!" Jasper suggested.

"Alright!" Chris agreed. The two of them lined up their zords just right and fired. Their black and blue blasts hit the force field, but ricocheted off and hit Andy's zord.

"Whoops."

"Sorry Andy!"

Andy looked around to make sure the sparks had stopped raining down on him. "Yeah thanks guys."

"We have to find a way to beat this guy!" Jasper said as he avoided his own blast.

"It's a good thing we're here then!" Austin smiled as his bobcat zord ran up. He pounced on Bubblon, only to get thrown off.

"Yeah, it's a good thing," Chris replied, rolling her eyes.

Leo smiled as she flew up beside Jasper. "How you doing?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Jasper replied.

"Hey guys!" Andy yelled, once again dodging a ricochet blast. "Can we please beat the demon first?!"

"Of course," Leo smiled. All five Rangers turned their rainbow dials and pushed them in.

"Thunder Strike Megazord!" the five of them yelled, now combined in the same cockpit.

"Thai is more like it," Jasper nodded. "Let's get this guy!"

Bubblon dropped his forcefield in surprise when the megazord suddenly jumped and started flying. "You're running- ah!" The megazord had been heading away from him, so he wasn't explain it to suddenly veer towards him and hit him. He stumbled back and regained his balance within a few seconds. The megazord fired a blast from its left side, then hit Bubblon with a punch from the right. Bubblon tried to block with another bubble dome, but the Megazord hit him before he could raise it properly.

"Looks like he doesn't have a bubble big enough to trap us now!" Austin yelled.

"Please don't antagonize him," Andy moaned. "The last thing we need is to be trapped."

"He brings up a good point," Leo agreed as they navigated the Megazord around. Bubblon. He attempted to make a bubble to trap them in, but the Megazord shot him before he could form it properly.

"Let's finish this guys!" Jasper said.

"Right!" the other four agreed. They all flipped two switches and powered up the Megazord. It took flight into the sky, and did a flip. It came down at Bubblon, firing first with the left arm and then with the right. It then spun around, hitting him with its wings.

"That's what you get for attacking little kids!" Chris snapped.

"Yeah!" Austin agreed.

"No!" Bubblon yelled as he blew up. The Rangers cheered and Andy and Jasper high-fived Chris and Austin. The blue and green Rangers high-fiver Leo.

"The storm has passed!" Leo yelled.

"Hell yeah!" Austin agreed.

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper smiled as he watched Ricky pick up Gabe, Carly, and Brian. Chris looked around and nodded. "Alright, no ones looking. It's time to go."

"You're sure we can't follow them home?" Jasper asked her.

"That would be really stalker esq," Andy pointed out. Plus he wanted to get back. He was feeling a little drained from the morning already.

"Yeah I guess." Jasper agreed. The three of them started up their bikes and he took one last look at his siblings. He's always been so involved with his family, that it was hard for him to help from the shadows now. He turned back and followed Chris and Andy as they drove a few yards and teleported back in streaks of blue, black, and white light. Once they were back in the basement, they parked their bikes and saw Quinn sitting at a table.

"We're back!" Chris announced.

Quinn didn't say anything. Andy figured she was in full on work mode and decided to leave her to it. He went upstairs, seeking the refuge of his room. Chris and Jasper followed, the black rusher trying to get a glimpse of whatever Quinn was working on as he passed. They went upstairs and he followed Chris up to the third floor so he could change. Once he was in black sweatpants and a t-shirt, he went downstairs to the dojo for fighting practice. When he got there, he found Leo and Austin already sparring.

"We really have to do this now?" Andy moaned to Z, looking like a snowman with his white sweat pants and t-shirt.

"Yes. You do. Now you and Chris get warmed up."

"Don't worry Andy," Jasper smiled. "You can go be anti-social later."

"I'm not being- oh, forget it!" Andy moaned exasperatedly.

Z turned to the green and red Rangers. "Austin, Leo, you two are off dishes this week."

"Really?! Sweet!" Austin smiled.

"Thanks," Leo replied.

"Don't thank me," Z said evenly. "Thank Jasper. He'll be doing both your chores for week."

"A week?!" Jasper demanded.

"Yes, a week. For sneaking out. Now, you five get busy. I'm going to check on Quinn."

Chris laughed as Jasper joined her and Andy. "You enjoy those extra chores."

"Shut up!" Jasper snapped, playfully.

"What do you guys think Quinn is working on?" Austin asked as he blocked a punch from Leo.

"Who knows. Could be anything."

"Knowing her," Leo said, swiping Austin's feet out from under him. "It'll be awesome."

-Thunder Strike-

Z was halfway down the stairs when his phone rang. "Hello?" he said answering it. He smiled. "Quinn."

"Yeah Z?" Quinn asked, spinning in her chair to look at him. Z held the phone out and she practically jumps out of it in her excitement. "Hi Dad!"

"Hi Quinn," Tommy replied. "How's it going?"

"Oh you know," Quinn smiled, catching Z's eye. "Same old, same old. How're you?"

"I've been good. Plenty busy. Tell me what you've been up to."

Quinn grinned as she sat down in her chair. "Well I read a book yesterday. It was really good!" Z shook his head and chuckled as he went back upstairs, leaving his niece alone to talk to her father.

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: Austin begin to feel that Andrew is too "shy" and takes it upon himself to make his friend more sociable.


	20. Episode 7: An Ace Ranger Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VII: An Ace Ranger

Chapter One: Green Against White

A/N: Time for another episode! Sorry this chapter is so short. Enjoy this one!

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself." -Harvey S. Fierstein

Four of the Rangers and Quinn were sitting in the living room doing various things. Quinn was tinkering with something in her hands. She sat next to Leo, leaning on her with her feet up. Leo was sitting as ladylike as ever, reading her bible. Austin was sitting next to Leo, playing idly with his lighter. Chris was doing something on her iPad while Jasper watched.

"So the point of this," he said, "is to tap the screen and move the bird around those green tubes?"

"Exactly."

"So that's flappy bird. I honestly don't understand what the big deal was about it. It doesn't look that hard."

"Not that hard?!" Austin demanded. He looked around and grabbed the closest thing to him, which just happened to be Leo's bible. He snatched it out of her hands and chucked it across the room at Jasper. The black ranger grabbed Chris's iPad and used it to block himself. "That fucking yellow bird was the bane of my existence last year!"

Chris sighed as she picked up the bible and tossed it back to Leo. The red ranger caught it and looked at Austin. "Austin...you don't throw bibles at people."

"Well why not?" he asked, going back to playing with his lighter.

"Because it's the bible! It's the word of God! You don't throw the word of God at people!"

"I thought it was very effective."

"I don't really think that's the point," Quinn said, not looking up from what she was doing.

"What the heck?!" Jasper demanded. "I just died!"

Chris nodded. "You do that a lot in Flappy Bird."

"I will beat this stupid, little bird."

"My highest score was 78," Austin smiled proudly.

"80," Chris countered.

"I just got 7!" Jasper smiled.

"What score did you get?" Quinn asked Leo, looking up at her.

"I don't play things like that," Leo answered, now reading again.

Jasper groaned and put his head on the iPad. "Did you die again?" Chris asked. He nodded.

"How can a little yellow bird be so infuriating?"

"Don't we all want to know."

"Hey, where's Andy?" Austin asked. "Why isn't he socializing with the rest of us?"

"I told him we were hanging out in the living room, but he said he wanted to hang in the library," Jasper said, all he attention focused on the game.

"Why is he so antisocial?" Austin asked no one in particular. "It seems like half the time when we try to...bond as Z puts it, he wants to be alone."

"Maybe he's trying to avoid the smell of weed that seems to follow your annoying voice around," Chris suggested.

"Or maybe he can't stand being near your judgmental attitude, Princess."

"Don't call me 'princess'!"

"I died again!" Jasper moaned.

"It's a good thing that games not an accurate representation of your life as a ranger," Quinn noted.

Jasper nodded. "But it's a great one for the demons."

"I'm going to get Andy," Austin decided, standing up. He left the room without looking at anyone else, stowing his lighter away in his pocket. He noticed his hands weren't shaking as he did and nodded to himself. _It's about damn time those freaking withdraw symptoms went away. _He went up to the third floor and knocked on Andy's door. "Andy! Andy!"

The door opened and the white ranger gave him a look. "Can I help you?"

"Since when do you wear glasses?" Austin demanded, leaning on the doorframe.

"They're reading glasses. I was doing some research with books I found in the library."

"Research on- what are you even doing here?"

"I can't come see you?"

"No, it's just that I want to be alone right now."

"Why?!" Austin whined. "You always want to be alone."

"Not always. Just sometimes."

"Yeah you do! After practice, or battles, or," he shuddered. "our schooling."

"Yeah, and tansy enough social interaction to drain anyone." Austin smiled suddenly and dashed into the white ranger's room. "Hey! Austin!"

Austin grabbed Andy's laptop off his desk and smiled as he shut it. "There."

"Austin! Give it back!"

"No! You need to be less anti-social."

"I'm not anti-social! Give it back!"

"Then why do you shut yourself away like this? Come join the land of the living and real people!"

"Because I'm not mentally ready to be social right now. I need to be alone."

"No you don't, come on!" Austin grabbed Andy's hand and tried to pull him alone, but Andy resisted.

"No, Austin! Leave me alone!" He reached up and grabbed his laptop and a second later swept Austin's feet out from under him. "I really just need to be alone sometimes Austin, why don't you get that?!" He turned and stormed out, determined to find some place to be alone.

Austin sat up and frowned as he watched him go. "What's his problem? I was just trying to help." He got up and followed Andy, determined to see his mission through.

-Thunder Strike-

"Ok," Blizzitor said. "We've had some set backs-"

"Set backs?!" Emperor Stormicon demanded. "Those children are making a mockery of our forces!"

"We've still collecting Chaotic energy," Hurricous explained. "So they haven't really beaten be us at all-"

"They've defeated every demon you fools send out!" Stormicon suddenly stood and swept his spear. He caused lightning to spark out of his spear as he swung it. The three cloud demons before him used their own spears to block the Lightning.

"Yes Emperor," Tornidon nodded. "We will certainly try to execute our plans more...efficiently."

"But we have discovered something interesting," Blizzitor spoke up, seeing that Stormicon was about to try and fry them again.

"Yes," Hurricous agreed. He looked at Tornidon, who was the most scientific of the thre wand actually, not that anyone else would admit it, the smartest.

"It appears," Tornidon began. "That humans are sometimes afraid or unable to say things they want to. My observations have shown me this very clearly."

"A fascinating observation," Blizzitor replied sarcastically. "But how do we use it to our advantage?"

"Simple," Hurricous said. As the strategist in the group, his plans tended to be more successful than the other two's; not that they'd ever admit that. "We use a demon that allows them to hear ecad others thoughts. Which I know we have, in the Demon Room."

Emperor Stormicon nodded. "Very well. You'd better hope this plan gets a lot of chaotic energy for us."

"It will Emperor. It will," Blizzitor promised. The three of them left to set the plan in motion.

-Thunder Strike-

Andy sighed as he heard the library door open. He looked up and sure enough, saw Austin coming towards. "I told you I wanted to be alone. Can't you take a hint?"

"Not really," Austin said. "I just want to know why you're so anti-social."

"I'm not! I'm introverted!"

"You are not inside out!"

Andy blinked and stared at him like he was an idiot. "What- never mind. And that's not what it means. It means that...sometimes I need to be alone."

Austin snorted. "There's no way that's a real thing. Like your...whatever it is...asexual thing."

"My asexual thing?" Andy asked as Austin sat down in the green bean bag chair.

"Yeah. Humans can't be asexual. I took-"

"Yeah biology. I'm sure you did. You and everyone else in the God damn world!"

"So why do you pretend-"

Andy stopped listening and closed his laptop. He put his elbows on it and rubbed his face. Austin stopped mid-thought when he saw the tension in the white ranger's neck and arms. It was like he already knew what the green ranger was going to say, and how he would react to it. "My sexual orientation is real," Andy said through clenched teeth. "My personality type is real. I am real!"

"I never said you weren't dude-"

"You might as well have!" Their morphers chirped and Andy sighed as he set his laptop aside. The two of them got up and they ran for the basement. Once there, they saw that everyone else was already down there. "What's the stitch?"

"Demons are attacking the downtown area," Quinn said, pulling up a map on one of the monitors.

"Looks like the business district," Leo observed.

"My dad owns like half those buildings," Austin said. "It's a hot spot of corporate activity and economic happenings."

"Well let's get out there before the Chaotic Storm demons destroy all of it." Leo led them over to their bikes and they turned them on. "Let's go!"

"Good luck!" Quinn smiled as they watched as they teleported out on their bikes in bursts of color. She turned back to the monitors and frowned. "That's weird."

"What's weird?" Z asked.

"I don't know. See this red blip on the map?" Z nodded to where she was pointing to on the map. "That's the demon. You see these red lines that are radiating out from that dot?"

"Yes. What are they?"

"I don't know. They weren't there just before the Rangers left."

"Is there anything specific on the sensors that could be registering this?"

"I don't think so. I might have to check them after this battle." Her eyes widened when the circular lined radiating off the blip got bigger. "Which I hope will be soon."


	21. Episode 7: An Ace Ranger Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VII: An Ace Ranger

Chapter Two: Matters of the Mind

A/N: Hey guys! This chapter is a little short, but hopefully the next one will be longer! Enjoy!

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself." -Harvey S. Fierstein

The Rangers raced through the city on their bikes, Leo in the lead, towards the attack. As soon as they arrived, the red ranger looked around. "Let's morph!" Leo told them. It was a brand new trick that they'd accomplished most of the time when they tried it in simulations.

"Got it!" the other four agreed.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" They drove their bikes up a ramp and they used this opportunity to activate their morphers. As their bikes hit the ground again they were fully morphed.

"How much longer you think until Quinn can make these faster?" Austin asked them.

"Who says she's making them faster?" Jasper asked him; they drove between cars in traffic, causing little kids inside to press their faces against the window.

"Why do we need to go any faster?" Andy asked. "We're already going pretty fast."

"Can you guys focus?" Chris asked.

As soon as they arrived on the scene of the attack, Leo frowned, _Where's the-_

"Right here, Red Ranger!" the demon shouted, hitting her with something. Leo was thrown off her bike and was sent flying. She rolled on the ground, sending pain shooting through her body.

"Leo!" the others shouted.

Leo looked up and saw the demon standing in front of her. It had a grey body that looked kind of squishy. He had a plastic looking, clear cover for the top of his skull, that revealed a brain. He had a brain in each hand, which were connected by what looked like wet, squishy spinal cords. As with what seemed to be the norm for these demons, he had no mouth but pink eyes. She pulls out her blaster and shot at the demon, but he avoided her shot before she even fired. "Be careful guys!" she told them. "This one's tricky."

"Aren't they all?" Austin asked as he drove towards the demon. He fried off blasts from his bike, but they all missed amazingly. "What the- ah!" He felt something wrap around his waist and was suddenly jerked off his bike. He flailed around, trying to to get himself free. "What the fuck?!" He couldn't get his hand in his blaster.

"Hang on!" Jasper yelled, grabbing his own blaster. He raised it up and aimed for the pink, slimy appendage that had wrapped itself around the green ranger. He shot at it, but the brain stem lofted Austin up more and caused the blast to hit him in the knee.

"Ah! Holy fucking shit!" Austin saw his vision go a little dark at the edges. _Damn those blasters have a good firepower._

Chris rode over to Leo, who pulled herself bike. "What'd we do?!"

"Get Austin down!" Leo replied. The demon waved his hand and funnel clouds descended down upon the battle.

"Darklings, descend!" Mindicus yelled.

"Of course he summoned them. Andy, you and me got these guys! Chris, Jasper, get Austin down before he keeps cursing!"

"You got it!" Chris nodded and got off her bike. She pulled out her blaster and inserted her weapons tag. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She ran at the demon and threw her wind fans at the brain stem. The brain stem whipped around and the fans hit Austin in the chest. "Whoops."

"What the hell?!" Austin demanded. He pushed his hands down on the stem, trying to get free.

"Ahahahaha!" Mindicus laughed. "You Rangers can't beat me!" He threw the other brain and hit Chris in the chest and stomach. She stumbled back in pain and the brain stem wrapped around her chest. He lifted her up in the air.

"And now he has Chris," Jasper sighed. He summoned his cloud maces and attacked Mindicus.

Andy rode around the Darklings, keeping them all contained in one area. He fired off blasts and they soared through a couple layers of foot soldiers; dissipating them on contact. He used his foot to steady himself as he took a sharp turn and rode back at them. He gunned the throttle and drove strut through a few of them. A group of four raised their hands and created a guts of wind that messed with his balance on his bike. He drove faster, trying to counteract the force of the wind. He felt another guest of wind and lost control. He doll on the side, and was extremely grateful to his suit for keeping him from getting torn apart as he slid on the asphalt. He crawled out and grabbed his blaster. He started shooting the Darklings as they attempted to converge on him. He saw Leo taking them down left and right as she wove her way between the throng.

Austin was doing his best to get out of his predicament, but it was looking like it was pointless. He saw the small brain that was on the end of the spinal cord and hit it in frustration. He felt the spinal cord loosen for a second before it tightened to the point that he thought it would snap him in half.

"You Rangers can't beat me!" Mindicus bragged as he dodged every attack Jasper came at him with. He swung one of his arms down and the spinal cord shortened really fast and Chris hit Jasper from behind. The black ranger was knocked off his feet. "I can read your minds!"

"He can what?!" Andy demanded, ducking arms and slicing through the line of demons.

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Leo muttered, spinning and hitting multiple demons with her rain sticks. "If he can read out minds he can know what we'll use to at attack him before we do it." She jumped and flipped over a couple, then hit them as she came down. With the Draklings finished off she ran at Mindicus, wondering how they could hope to beat him if he was able to read their minds.

"You can't!" Mindicus yelled. Andy saw Austin tugging on the brain that need the spinal cord and chucked one of his snow scrapers at it. It hit the brain and the spinal cord loosened a little bit. Andy ran forward as he caught it and jumped up. He grabbed on to the soundalike cord and his feet were suddenly very far above the ground.

"Oh geez!" he gasped as he grabbed onto something to keep his grip. At that moment, both he and Austin put a hand in the brain. "Ah!" Andy yelled, falling back as he felt a small blast of electricity zap him.

"Shit!" Austin cried, also letting go.

Andy hit the ground and rolled a little bit, falling the right way to prevent too much injury. He de-morphed as soon as he hit the ground though and moaned. Leo jumped up and stabbed her rain sticks into the brain on the spinal cord holding Chris. "Ah!" Mindicus yelled in pain, causing the spinal cords on both Rangers to loosen. Jasper and Leo took the opportunity to grab onto their feet and pull them down. Jasper was winded as Austin fell on top of him.

"You ok?" the black ranger asked the green.

"I think so," Austin mumbled, stumbling off.

Chris fell onto Leo and immediately got off; not wanting to make the red ranger uncomfortable. "Are you ok?" Leo asked her as they stood up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chris answered. Andy joined the group as they faced Mindicus.

"I don't have time to deal with you brats," Mindicus decided. "I have more lives to ruin and chaos to create." He jumped and spun away like he was being carried by a tornado.

_Lives to ruin?_ Andy thought in confusion.

"I would've thought that'd be self explanatory," Austin replied. "He's going to ruin lives. What else would a demon do? What?" he added when everyone looked at him funny.

"You literally just answered a question that no one asked," Chris told him as they circled up a little bit.

"No I didn't Princess. Andy asked."

"No I didn't," Andy said.

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't!"

"Austin," Leo said, "no one said anything."

(Well someone had to have said something, I'm not a freaking mind reader,) Austin thought.

"No one said you were," Andy told him.

"No one said he was what?" Jasper asked.

"A mind reader."

"I didn't say that!" Austin protested. He blinked and realized what he'd just said. "I didn't say that."

"I heard-"

"No, I really didn't say it, but thought it."

"You what?"

"I thought it. You responded to something I was thinking."

"Yeah, sure I did. Very funny Austin."

_Yes you did!_

"No I didn't!"

"There! What did I just say?!"

Andy gave him a look like he'd lost his mind. " 'Yes you did'. So?"

"He-he didn't say anything," Jasper said.

"Don't tell me he's got you in on it too!"

"But he really don't didn't," Chris said. Andy blinked and stared at her.

_Ok,_ he thought. _There's no way Chris would go along with some stupid prank of Austin's._

_Gee, you think?_ Austin asked sarcastically.

"Oh my god!" Andy and Austin yelled at the same time.

"What?!" Leo asked. She, Jasper, and Chris were all giving each other looks of confusion.

"You just fucking read my mind!" Austin yelled at Andy. "You. Read. My. Fucking. Mind!"

"I know!" Andy replied. "And you read my mind!"

"Wait a minute," Jasper said, shaking is head and waving a hand dismissively. "Are you two serious?"

"Dead fucking serious," Austin insisted. "We can hear each others' thoughts."

"Oh yeah?" Chris asked skeptically. "Then what am I thing right now?"

"Probably that I'm an idiot but that's a given. I don't hear your guys' thoughts. Just his."

"Sam here," Andy nodded.

Leo shook her head. "We need to consult the expert on this one." She pushed the communication button on her morpher. "Quinn?"

"Yeah?" Quinn replied. "What's up?"

"Andy and Austin claim they can read each others' minds."

"Well conserving the fact that the demon you just fount was called Mindicus and he could read your thoughts, I wouldn't be surprised."

"She has a point," Jasper consented.

"If that monster can make it so people can read echo other's minds, then we're gonna have a big problem," Chris said.

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "A person's thoughts are their own private domain. No one has the right to invade that personal sphere."

_Do you hear yourself when you talk like that? _Austin thought.

_Sorry, it must be the writer in me._

"We need to find that demon and get rid of him," Leo said. "Before he causes too much damage."

"I'm getting a lot of weird readings all over the city," Quinn told them. "Whatever he's doing, he's moving fast."

"Then we'll have to be faster. Let's split up. Quinn send us the coordinates for these readings. Chris, you and Jasper go together. Andy, you and Austin are together."

"Who will you go with then?" Jasper asked.

"I'll go alone."

"You can't go alone!"

"I can and will."

"What am I?!" Quinn demanded. "Chopped liver?! I can see what I can do to help her from." Everyone nodded. They already considered Quinn to be the sixth member of their team.

"Alright Quinn," Leo smiled. "It's you and me together. Everyone got it?"

"Yup!" everyone, including Quinn, chorused. The Rangers grabbed their storm chasers and Andy re-morphed. They all powered up their bikes and gave Evan other a nod before riding off in their separate distractions.


	22. Episode 7: An Ace Ranger Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VII: An Ace Ranger

Chapter Three: Mind Over Matter

A/N: Ello wonderful readers! Time for an update! This episode has meant a lot to me personally because, like Andy, I myself am asexual. Although I knew Andy was before I knew I was. My own journey to discover this was very different than his, but if anyone wants to know more about it just shoot me a pm. I'm happy to share my story with anyone. Enjoy the rest of the episode.

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself." -Harvey S. Fierstein

Andy did his best to keep Austin out of his head as they rode through the city. He scowled as he heard Austin's voice in his head again. _Get out of my head!_

_Why?_ Austin moaned. _It's so cool! We're like super heroes!_

_Yes, _replied Andy, rolling his eyes. _The fact that you're invading my personal privacy is proof that we're super heroes, not the fact that we save people on a weekly basis._

_Oh yeah I guess that's true,_ Austin admitted. _Man why are you so defensive?_

_Because you're invading my privacy!_

_Dude, all I'm doing is communicating with you._

_In my head is my safe place Austin! I won't have it disturbed by you!_ The White Ranger stopped his bike and rested his foot on the ground to keep himself in place. _Do you understand how hard it is when everyone is insisting that you're someone you're not?! How difficult it can be to stay true to yourself when the most important people to you don't understand?!_

_Um...no._

Andy sighed. _Come on. We have a demon to find._

Austin frowned as he followed him. _What could he be talking about? _Andy must've been thinking about their conversation too, because Austin began to hear voices in his head. Voices he didn't recognize.

_"Why are you so rude?!"_ a woman demanded. _"Don't you want to hang out with your friends?!"_

_"Come on dude,"_ said what sounded like a teen boy. _"it's just a playboy magazine. Why don't you ever want to so something normal? All you do is read."_

_"You're not asexual, that's not a thing!"_ the woman from earlier said. _"You're just going through a phase!"_

_"You weirdo, why don't you ever want to do anything fun?"_ another boy's voice asked.

_"Well if you felt broken for that long then it must mean that you are!"_

Austin blinked. _What the actual fuck was that?_

_That,_ Andy replied. _Is why I don't want you inside my head. In my head I'm safe to be myself without having to worry about what others will say._ He decided to say silent as they continued to scour their area for the demon.

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn sighed in frustration as she saw more red lines appear on the map. "This doesn't make any sense." More lines appeared and she gestured at her monitors with both hands. "How?! I don't understand what's going on here!"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Z assured her.

"If I could go check the sensors-"

"No."

"But-"

"No Quinn."

Quinn sighed and looked back at her monitors. "I will figure this out."

-Thunder Strike-

_"Up ahead!"_ Andy told Austin. The two of them saw a group of business men who looked like they were all about to murder each other. They stopped their bikes and got off.

"So I'm not a reliable partner, huh?!" A man with a suit and red tie asked, grabbing the man stabbing in front of him. "Think I make bad decisions do you?!"

"Hey!" Austin snapped, getting between them. "You guys need to chill!"

"Well this guy-"

"Whoa!" He pushed the both men away. _I think the demon has been here. _He looked over at Andy, who was I between two more men in power suits yelling in each others faces.

_Gee, you think?_ was the reply Andy thought. "Hey, you guys need to calm down!"

"Not while he's thinking all these despicable things about me!" one of the men shouted.

_I'm starting to think this whole reading other people's minds thing isn't such a good idea, _Austin thought. He forced the men he was between apart again. "Dammit! Can't you two get along?!" He swept both their legs out from under them and they fell on the ground.

_Austin!_

_What? It got them to stop didn't it?!_

Andy rolled his eyes and his morpher beeped. "Yes?"

"We haven't found the demon yet," Jasper said. "Have you guys seen him?"

"Uh-" Andy was jerked back and into the air. "Yes!"

"Ah!" the four men yelled.

"Alright!" Austin told them. "Clear out! All of you! Go!" They took off running while Austin while took out his blaster. He shot at the demon, only to have him knock the blast aside with one of his brains on a rope. "Let him go!"

"Why?!" Mindicus taunted, squeezing the white ranger more, whose arms were pinned at his sides. "Let's see what the little white ranger has inside his head!"

"Stay out of my head!" Andy snapped. He wiggled around and tired to resist, but the brain on the end of the brain stem hit his helmet. He threw his head from side to side, trying to avoid the inevitable. The brain stuck into his helmet and his body went rigid. "Ah!"

"Andy!" Austin yelled.

Andy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the pain bombarding his body. Austin flinched, feeling the pain through his mental connection with Andy. He could also hear all the things that where going through the White Ranger's head.

_"Maybe if you were a better father our son wouldn't be a freak, who thinks he's some kind of special snowflake!"_

"Ouch," Austin muttered, grabbing his weapons tag. "That's pretty fucking harsh. Do parents actually say shit like that?!"

_"You're not asexual you just haven't found the right person-"_

_"I bet I could change your mind about that. It sounds like a bit of a challenge-"_

_"You're not an introvert you're just rude and shy-"_

_"I must be broken. No one seems to understand what's going on-"_

"Enough!" Austin yelled, whacking Mindicus in the head with his lightning hammers. The demon stumbled and the brain dropped off Andy's head; the white ranger going limp in the stem wrapped around him.

"Argh! You're going to regret that Green Ranger!"

"Oh hell no!" Austin snapped, throwing his hammers. _You're going to regret picking through his brain!_

"And who's going to make me?!"

_I'm glad you asked. I'd like to introduce you to left hammer- _One of his hammers came back and hit Mindicus as Austin caught it. _and right hammer. _The other hammer copied their first one. Mindicus stumbled forward and his grip loosened enough for Andy to wiggle out. He dropped onto the ground and quickly rejoined Austin.

"You ok man?" Austin asked.

"You bet," Andy nodded.

"Grr!" Mindicus growled. "Who do you kids think you are?!"

"Again, so glad you asked," Austin smiled. He fixed his grip on his hammers. "Green lighting ranger!"

Andy summoned his snow scrapers and thrust them down at his sides, much like Austin was. "White snow ranger!"

"Clear skies-"

"-are straight ahead!"

_Communicates like this,_ Austin said. _It'll keep our minds busy so he doesn't hear our attacks._

_Good idea._

"You two can scheme all you want," Mindicus snarled. "I'll still block all your attacks!"

_Think again! _Austin thought as he threw one of his hammers. It soared past Mindicus, but he hit the demon with the other one in his hand. His first hammer came back and hit him as the green ranger caught it.

_And again!_ Andy yelled in his head. He spun around and hit Mindicus with both his snow scrapers. He smiled when the demon stumbled back in pain. Mindicus regained his balance and threw both the brains he was holding at the Rangers. They hit the boys, sending pain through their bodies. They were thrown backwards and hit the ground. _Come on!_ Andy thought, pushing himself to his feet. _We have to stop him!_

_I'm right behind you!_ Austin responded. He suddenly found himself surrounded by Darklings and sighed inwardly. _Scratch that. You got this!_ He ducked as a couple stuck out their arms and whacked them with his hammers. He kicked one in the chest and spun in a circle, throwing his hammers. They moved fast around him in the air, taking out the Darklings as they attempted to surrounded him. _You guys really need to get some new moves!_ He spun his hammers around, swinging them through the demons that were trying to grab him.

Andy meanwhile was pounding Mindicus with his snow scrapers. He slashed them down, hitting the demon. "Blizzblitz!" he yelled, using his signature attack on the enemy.

Mindicus fell back and growled in frustration. "You're going to pay for that, White Ranger!"

"Not on our watch!" Jasper yelled as he, Leo, and Chris drove onto the scene. They fired at Mindicus with their blasters on their bikes.

"Sorry we're so late," Leo apologized.

"But we got where as fast as we could," Chris supplied.

"Let's finish this guy!" Andy said.

"Alright!" Austin cheered. The five of them lined up and Mindicus laughed.

"Do you children really think you can defeat me after all the chaotic energy I've created?!" he asked.

"Of course we will," Andy said. "Five weather strike! Blizz blitz!"

"Strike beat!"

"Downpour strike!"

"Gust blast!"

"Downcast jab!"

They watched the energy exploded and cheered. _We got that-_ Austin and Andy thought at the same time.

"Shit!" Austin swore.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"You Rangers haven't defeated me yet!" Mindicus yelled. He hit them with his brains and they were all thrown backwards.

"That," Andy and Austin moaned.

"I don't understand," Chris said. "No demon has ever survived our finisher!"

"Well I'd suggest we think of something and soon!" Austin suggested.

Mindicus laughed and smashed his two braids together. The green and white rangers grabbed their heads and cried out in pain. Austin's back arched and Andy threw himself against the ground. "I told you you can't beat me!"

"Austin! Andy!" Jasper said, kneeling between them. He put a hand on each of them. "Are you guys ok?!"

"Does it look like we're fucking ok?!" Austin demanded, still in an unbelievable amount of pain.

"We have to do something!" Chris said.

"Quinn?" Leo said into her morpher. "Any ideas?"

"Use the finisher again?"

"Are you serious?!" Jasper demanded.

"What do you want me to tell you?! I don't have anything better for you!"

"Well we don't have a lot of options," Leo said. "Let's do it!" Andy and Austin struggled to their feet and they lined up. Andy could barely see he was in so much pain from his head. Austin was the same way; stumbling around a little as he stood.

"Five weather strike!" Leo yelled. "Downpour strike!"

"Gust blast!"

"Strike beat!"

"Blizz blitz!"

"Downcast jab!"

"Huh?!" Mindicus asked as the new wave of energy zipped through him. "You can't-!" The energy exploded and destroyed him. Andy almost fell to his knees in relief when his headache disappeared.

"Thank god that's over," Austin said.

"You're telling me." A giant funnel cloud descended and revived Mindiucs. "Never mind."

"You Rangers are going to mind your own business!" Mindicus yelled.

"Thunder zords, activate!"

"Thunder hawk zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder tiger zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder fox zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder falcon zord! Powered up!"

"Thunder strike megazord!" the five of them yelled in unison.

"Think he can read our minds while we're in the zords?" Jasper asked.

"Only one way to find out," Chris said. The megazord raised its left arm and fired off at the demon. He avoided the shots, which hit the building behind him, and he threw his brains at the megazord. They hit the fighting machine a few times, making it stumble, and then wrapping the brain stems around it.

"Haha!" Mindiucs laughed. He pulled forward and threw the Megaord off balance. It hit the ground and all the rangers inside were thrown forward.

"Oof!" Andy gasped, chest slamming into his control panel. Austin used his arms to brace himself; which sent shock waves of pain up his arms. Jasper hit his head off the inside of his helmet as his head hit his control panel. Chris also used her arms brace herself and felt pain shoot up her arms.

"Ah!" Leo cried, being the farthest back, and almost getting thrown out of her seat all together. "Everyone ok?"

"We're not dead yet," Austin replied.

"That's good- ah!" They were suddenly thrown back in their seats as Mindicus kicked the megazord, making it roll over.

"Let's get back on our feet!" Jasper suggested. Andy nodded and the two of them each flipped a switch, firing from both arms. The blasts hit Mindicus and wounded him enough that the megazord was able to get on its feet. The wings suddenly pulled it back into the air, pulling Mindicus off his feet into his back. It spun around and lifted the demon off the ground and caused him to release it simply for his own survival.

"Finally," Andy sighed as they floated in the air.

"Let's get rid of this guy!" Austin suggested.

"What if the finisher doesn't work again?" Chris asked.

"Then we'll do it twice," Leo told them. She, Chris, and Austin flipped their first two switches. The Mgezaord did a flip in the air and came at Mindiucs. It shot him with each of its arms and then spun around to caused both wings to hit him. They watched the energy explode, but Mindiucs was still standing.

"God dammit!" Austin yelled.

"Again!" Leo commanded. The megazord flew into the air and did another flip. It repeated its earlier movements of two hits and then wing hits. Mindiucs tried to resist the energy that was burning through him.

"No! No! I can't be defeated! I can't!" he yelled as the energy exploded and destroyed him.

"Good riddance," Andy smiled as he and Jasper landed back to high-five Chris and Austin. The green and blue Rangers leaned back to high-five Leo, who risked her fists in the air.

"The storm has passed!" she yelled.

-Thunder Strike-

"Well that demon was a waste," Torndion declared.

"Not quite," Hurricous said. "The Rangers were hard pressed to defeat him."

Blizzitor nodded. "All that chaotic energy he created was being absorbed by him as they fought him. It helped half his injuries as they weakened him."

"So our plan is working. Just not as fast as we'd like it to."

Blizzitor nodded. "Progress is progress. If the Rangers had a hard time with this one, imagine how hard it will be for them next time!"

"Tornidon laughed. "Those humans won't know what hit them!"

-Thunder Strike-

Back in the house, Leo watched as the other Rangers went upstairs. She looked back at Quinn, who was staring at her computers. "Quinn? Something wrong?" Quinn nodded.

"You could say that," she murmured. She sighed and gestured for the red ranger to join her. "You see these lines?"

"Yeah."

"You see how they're radiating over the area?"

"I do."

"That's chaotic energy."

"What?! Like...the chaotic energy?! The thing that Stormicon and his army depend on?"

Quinn nodded. "I've always seen lines like this in the maps during an attack but it never occurred to me what they could be. I think even though you defeat the demons and whatever spell they cast is broken, the chaotic energy it created is left unless it's used."

Leo shook her head. This wasn't good. "Chaotic energy has been collecting around the city this whole time."

Quinn nodded, taking her glasses off and cleaning them with her shirt. "Some of it disappears, which I think is due to Stormicon and his cronies creating more demons."

"We have to find a way to get rid of it," Leo said. "With that floating around, it'll be twice as hard to defeat them." Quinn nodded in agreement.

"Definitely. Just thought I should warn you."

"I'm glad you did."

"I'll think of some way to combat this," Quinn promised. Leo saw the sincerity and passion in her friend's eyes. She was once again reminded of the common thought that Quinn would make a great power ranger.

"I know you will."

Upstairs, Andy was back in the library, typing away. He'd hit a creative streak and didn't want to lose his momentum. He distantly heard the door open and close. He didn't even pause as Austin sat down next to him.

"Holy shit you type fast," Austin said in awe.

"Better not let Leo hear you say that," Andy responded.

Austin nodded. "I'm sorry Andy." The white ranger stopped typing; his fingers frozen over the keys. "I shouldn't have said what I did. It was...really uncool."

"It's not like it wasn't anything I haven't already heard a million times," Andy responded, resting his hands on the edge of his laptop. He traced the shape of the keys on the keyboard. "I lived half my life believing I was broken because in sex-Ed they never told us we might not experience sexual attraction. I thought there was something wrong with me because didn't like girls or guys or anyone that way the everyone else did."

"That's why your...hero guy is...uh...asexual too. Right?" Austin smiled at the shocked look Andy was giving him. "I'm not completely ignorant."

Andy smiled. "Yeah it is. Representation is important. If I'd known what asexual was back then I probably would be adjusted better."

Austin thought about all the things he'd heard when he could read Andy's mind. He wasn't surprised the white ranger hadn't liked it. "I'm sorry that people are...ignorant."

Andy snorted. "Me too. Being aromatic and asexual in this world can get to you sometimes. All the time."

"Well you know, someday when you publish these stories of yours, you can spread awareness."

"Yeah right. Like anyone will ever want to read my stories."

"I want to. Can I?"

"You want to read one of my stories?!"

"Yeah. Let's see if they're good."

"I don't know-"

"Come on," Austin whined. "I'll even say please."

"Well...alright..." Andy pulled up a short story and handed his laptop to the green ranger. Austin set it down in his lap as he steeled doe and began to read. Andy watched his facial expressions carefully. He's was trying to gage how well his friend was taking the story. Eventually, after what felt like hours to Andy, Austin handed the computer back. "Well?"

"It's...good. Really good. I really don't like reading, but damn. You got some talent."

"Thanks," Andy smiled, blushing a little. He couldn't believe Austin had liked it. The green ranger stood up and stretched.

"I'm gonna take a nap. I'll leave you to your writing." He started walking towards the door. He opened it and turned around. "And Andy?" Andy turned and looked at him expectantly. "I think it's pretty hard core to be so true to yourself in a world where people are trying to contradict you like that. You're a fucking badass." He left the library and Andy smiled as the door shut.

"You're pretty hardcore yourself Austin," Andy said aloud in the now silent room. "No matter what Chris says about you." He opened up his music and started playing a song. He reopens his word document and started typing again.

-Thunder Strike-

It was midnight. No one in the house was awake. Expect for Quinn. She snuck down to her lab and made sure the door was locked behind her. She went over the the coffee machine on one of her work tables and made herself a cup. She couldn't sleep anyways. Her mind was going a million miles a minute. "We have to get rid of that chaotic energy," she reasoned as she sat down in front of her computers with her fresh coffee. She took a sip. She got up and set the cup down. She went over to the cabinet that had stored the morphers. She unlocked and opened up one of them. She removed a black, rectangle case that was six inches long, half an inch high, and three inches in depth.

Quinn sat back down and opened the case. Inside were five, unfinished dog tags. They were only half there, with a metal base each and a web of wires inside. She grabbed five identical scanners that were a couple of inches on each if it's square sides. She plugged the five of them in and placed each of the dog tags on them. Her main computer recognized the software and five blank lines popped up. Quinn typed in the password and dozens of window popped up on all of her monitors. She looked around at all of them.

"I think I found my renewable source of energy to use as a kick-start conversion," she said. "It's time to commence Project Super Storm."

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time on Power Rangers Thunder Strike: Jasper gets tired of Austin's snide comments about his family and background and finally snaps against his friend.


	23. Episode 8: The Longest Mile Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VIII: Longest Mile

Chapter One: Not Friends

A/N: Sorry for the wait, my access to wifi hasn't been that good. Enjoy!

"I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am." -Prince Zuko; Avatar the Last Airbender

Austin sighed as he followed Chris into the dojo. "I'm sick of this fighting practice thing."

"Well Quinn hasn't designed any new weapons lately, and we barely beat the last demon," the blue ranger reminded him. Austin sighed again, very audibly, and rolled his eyes. None the less, he walked in and readied himself to get some work done.

"Why do you think it took so long to defeat the demon?" Andy asked. Jasper came in and gave the white ranger a look of half-disbelief.

"Leo seems to know," he remarked.

"Think so?"

"Of course," Austin agreed. "Listen to the gutter punk, he knows. The Holy Smack Down is the leader in red." Chris and Jasper stared at Austin as if he'd just answered in rapid Swahili. Andy blinked.

"I'm sorry, but did you just use English?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Alright boys, let's pair up," Chris told them. She knew Leo was in the basement with Quinn and Z, most likely trying to figure out how to solve the problem of the demons not being destroyed on time. Austin squared off against Jasper, raising his fists in anticipation. The two of them circled each other for a minute.

"This remind you of your days going to schools where they couldn't afford textbooks, Gutter Punk?"

Jasper scowled and swung at the green ranger's head. "You're awfully lose with your lips, Austin."

Austin grinned as he blocked the punch and attempted to kick the black ranger in the chest. "Well you're loose with your clothes so-" He winced as Jasper grabbed his foot and threw him off balance. He kicked the green ranger while he was down and Austin scrambled to his feet. "Awe, was that too close to home for you? Or should I say the trailer park-ow!" Jasper punched Austin in the head and the green ranger kicked him in the knees.

Jasper lunged forward and put him in a headlock. Austin elbowed him in both sides, but it seemed to have little effect on the black ranger. He lifted Austin up off his feet a little, and the green ranger managed to kicked him in the thigh. This cussed Jasper to put him down, but then Austin grabbed Jasper's arm around his neck and used his body to flip the black ranger on to his back. Jasper grabbed his feet and pulled them out from under him. At the same moment Austin fell, the black ranger turned himself over and jumped on him. Austin lunched him, but Jasper stayed on top of him; trying to choke him.

"Austin! Jasper!" Andy yelled. He and Chris ran to the two of them and tried to pull Jasper off, but he seemed determined to stay.

"Stay out of this!" he snapped at Andy, pushing the white ranger away.

"I'm getting Leo and Z," Chris said, jumping to her feet. She booked it out of the room, heading for the basement. Andy meanwhile wrapped his arms around Jasper, trying to pull him off. Austin punched Jasper in the chest with as much strength as he could muster while being pinned. He wasn't in as good shape as Jasper though, and was being easily held down.

Meanwhile, Chris ran down the stairs to Quinn's Lab, taking the stairs two at a time. "Austin and Jasper are fighting again!"

"Again?!" Leo asked in disbelief. She jumped out of her seat and followed Chris back up the stairs. Quinn was right behind her and Z was right behind her. As soon as the red and blue Rangers got into the dojo they ran to Jasper. "Hey! Guys, knock it off!"

"You heard her!" Chris yelled. She and Leo managed to get Jasper off of Austin as the green ranger managed to hit him in the eye. Jasper tried to get at him, but Quinn jumped in and got in front of him. The black ranger's arm was already in motion, but she effortlessly grabbed his wrist with one hand. She grabbed his elbow with the other and twisted his arm behind his back. A second later she tripped him and he fell in his face. Quinn let him fall and bent his wrist, slightly twisting his arm.

"You guys do realized your supposed to be fighting demons and not each other, right?" she asked, looking between Austin and Jasper.

"I definitely don't want to fight you," Andy said to her. Chris nodded in agreement. They able knew Quinn could probably take on all five of them at once; and win.

"What happened?" Z asked them. "Quinn, let go Jasper go before you break his arm."

"Austin was making fun of me and calling me names," Jasper explained as he got to his feet. He rubbed his arm and gave Quinn a side glance.

"So you attacked him?" Leo asked. "That seems very...childish."

"I don't take being teased well."

"We've noticed," Andy replied, rolling his eyes. Jasper gave him a look, which made Z and Leo shake their heads.

"Violence is never the answer," Leo told them.

"Says the girl who has killed demons and fighting in city destroying battles every week," Austin smiled.

"You're not one to be talking," Chris told him. "You started this mess."

"Hey, I was just fucking messing around! How was I supposed to know he'd go all fucking psycho on me?!"

Andy out his hands over Leo's ears, knowing it made the red ranger flinch to hear Austin swear. Z gave Austin a disapproving look. "Language Austin."

Leo brushed Andy's hands off. "Both of you apologize," she told them.

"Why do I have to apologize?!" Jasper and Austin demanded at the same time.

"I was just teasing," Austin said. "He's the one who took it too far."

"You shouldn't be teasing me anyways!" Jasper snapped. "We're supposed to be teammates!"

"And as my friend I was just screwing with you-"

"I said teammate! There's no way I'd be friends with a...lazy, self-absorbed asshole like you!"

Andy sighed as he covered Leo's ears again. "Really? Is everyone going to try and make out leader faint? Because one of you is bad enough."

"Sorry Leo."

"Oh yeah, I'm the asshole," Austin responded. "You're the one who jumped on me and-"

"Enough!" Z yelled, silencing them all. "You're all on the same team here, so you need to get along."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed. "Ranger teams are supposed to be close."

"Well I'm sure no ranger had to deal with an imbecile like him!" Jasper exclaimed, pointing at Austin.

"Ok! That's enough out of both of you!" Leo told them. "Austin, go with Chris-" Andy shook his head very hurriedly. "Never mind. Austin, you and Andy go on that side," she pointed to the right, "Jasper and Chris on this side. Me and Quinn will soar in the middle."

"Quinn has work to do," Quinn said. "And Quinn's not actually part of the team."

"Quinn is a member of the team if I say she is, and we need one more person to make the pairs even."

"Well...ok!"

Z nodded approvingly as the ranger split up. He sighed when Jasper gave Austin a shove with his shoulder as they passed each other. He left the room, trusting that Leo was going to handle it if things got out of hand again.

-Thunder Strike-

"Our plan is working," Blizzitor said to Hurricous and Tornidon as the three of them entered The Demon Room. "The city is slowly becoming filled with chaotic energy."

"We need to be more aggressive with our demons," Hurricous told them. "We need demons that will cause uncontrolled panic and mayhem down on the surface."

"If only we could control the demons that are formed here," Tornidon noted, eyeing all the drawings that had appeared on the walls of the room. "What about this one?" He pointed his spear at one.

"No. Looks too unpredictable."

"This one."

"That's not even finished!" Blizzitor snapped.

"Just let us pick the demons," Hurricous said pushing Tornidon back. "You just stand there and hope Emperor Stormicon doesn't realize how you're a useless pile of clouds."

"Hey!" Tornidon snapped, stabbing at Hurricous with his spear. The other demon moved to the side to avoid getting impaled, causing the spear to get impaled in the wall. The other two laughed as Tornidon attempted to pull it back out.

"Let's just get this over with," Blizzitor said. He studied a couple of demons before pointing his spear at one. "Chaotic energy, give this demon life!" He nodded as he stepped back and a funnel cloud jumped off the wall. Hurricous studied the demon and nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, this will do nicely."

Tornidon finally managed to get his weapon out of the wall and turned around. "Do ether of you care about my opinion?"

"Is your opinion going to be intelligent?"

"Hey!"

"Enough you two!" Blizzitor snapped. "Demon!"

"It's Clumsiton, Sir," the demon replied.

"Whatever. Go down to the world and create as much chaos as possible. Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"I bet this won't even work!" Tornidon told them indignantly as they walked out and Clumsiton disappeared in a whirl of wind.

"Show's what you know, Moron," Hurricous replied as the three of them headed for the front of the castle to watch the mayhem unfold.

-Thunder Strike-

Leo was thrown back on the ground again and stared up at Quinn, who was standing over her in a ready stance. "You could at least go easy on me," the red ranger remarked as her friend pulled her to her feet.

"I was going easy on you," Quinn replied. Leo shook her head and looked around the room. Andy and Austin were doing fine sparring with each other. She watched as Andy kicked Austin in the chest, and the green ranger reciprocated by getting his arms behind him. Leo looked over at Jasper and Chris. The blue ranger seemed to be gaining the upper hand on the black. Their morphers suddenly beeped and Quinn made a mad dash out of the room. Everyone one else, the Rangers, pressed the teleportation button on their morphers and teleported down to the basement. They met Quinn there, to which Leo really wasn't surprised. "Riverside Square."

"Let's go!" Leo told the Rangers. They ran to their bikes and hopped on. They started them up, drove at the far wall, and teleported away in a rainbow of colored lights. When they came out do their teleportation, in an alley so no one would see them suddenly appear, they drove out towards the battle. "Let's morph!"

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five if them yelled, morphing on their bikes. They drove faster, racing to the demon. As soon as they turned down the street of the attack they saw Darklings attacking people. The demon in the center of them was bright red and orange, with limbs that looked like they were wiggly, and long, fluid fingers. The Rangers rode towards him as the demon swum his arm out, making it longer and hitting people. He knocked people back; throwing them into cars and buildings.

"Austin, Jasper, go hope the civilians!" Leo told them.

"You got it!" Jasper nodded.

"On it!" Austin replied. The two of them split off from the group as the other three Rangers headed for the demon.

The demon saw them and laughed. "Darklings, stop them!" Darklings appeared around them, trapping the Rangers in a ring of grey bodies.

"Shit," Austin swore.

Clumsiton laughed. "And now, to cause more chaos!" He raised his hand at the civilians he'd earlier thrown and the Rangers saw a red and organize light materialize around it. "You first!"


	24. Episode 8: The Longest Mile Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VIII: Longest Mile

Chapter Two: Teammates?

A/N: Another chapter ready! I'm gonna finish this tomorrow! So we'll stay on schedule. Read on!

"I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am." -Prince Zuko; Avatar the Last Airbender

"Get to those civilians!" Leo yelled. She got off her bike and put her weapons tag in her blaster. "Thunder weapons, activate!" She spun her rain sticks around, taking out Darklings as she wove her way through them. Chris followed closely behind, blasting any demons that tired to sneak up on their leader. Leo broke through the ranks of the demons and jumped in front of the civilians. She knocked the light that was zapped at the away and into a building, where it exploded.

Andy managed to sneak up behind her and start pulling the civilians away. "Run!" he told them. "Quick! Get away from here!" He pulled them by their arms as Leo knocked the lights away from them. She moved as fast as she could, trying to keep up. A couple of people ran away from the side of the group where Andy was pulling people away. As Leo hit a blast of lights with one of her sticks, the lights were re-directed and hit the two people who'd separated from the group.

_Oh no!_ Leo thought, still trying to keep the people behind her safe. Chris looked at Austin and Jasper, who were both neck deep in Darklings. With the increase in chaotic energy, Stormicon had been able to make many foot soldiers to accompany the demon.

"I'm going to help them!" Chris told the green and black Rangers. "Keep fighting these guys!"

"You go it!" Jasper yelled back. He kept up his barrage blasts from his blaster. He shot every Dakrlings he saw. "Better step this up. Thunder weapons, activate!"

"Go get 'em Princess!" Austin shouted. He smashed through Dakrlings with his hammers, swinging them around to get more speed.

"Stop calling me that!" Chris snapped. She ran and flipped over the Darklings who tried to who tried her path. She reached the two civilians and put a hand on each of them. "Are you ok?" One of them, a man, tired to stand, but as stumbled a fell.

"I feel weird," the man mumbled.

"Me too," the woman agreed. She got up and tried to run, but she barely made it a few feet before she fell on her face.

"Something is definitely wrong here!" Chris yelled to the others.

_What was your first clue?!_ Andy thought. "Let's go! Move!"

Clumsiton saw another group of civilians hiding and turned towards them. Leo ran towards him. "I don't think so!" Chris and Andy ran towards them and each jumped and flipped in the air. As they came down the each spread their arms and shielded the civilians with their bodies. The people in front of them screamed in fear as the lights hit the Rangers and absorbed into their backs. Andy and Chris stumbled, moaning as a strange feeling spread through their bodies.

Leo joined the group and started grabbing civilians by their arms. "Run! Get away from here! Go!" The group quickly got the idea and took off. She looked around and nodded when she noticed that all the civilians and been cleared from the area. "Are you two ok?" she asked Andy and Chris.

"Yeah," Andy said. "I feel kind of strange."

"Ahaha!" Clumsiton laughed. "You Rangers aren't going to beat me!"

"That's what they all think!" The three Rangers faced the demon. They all raced forward, or at least Leo did. Chris stumbled and seemed to trip over her own feet. Andy hit the ground as well not long after her. Leo didn't venue notice, focusing her attention on the demon. Jasper and Austin meanwhile, finally finished taking down the Dakrlings and joined their friends. Andy pushed himself back to his feet threw one of his snow scrapers. It missed by a long shot and Austin gave him a look.

"Dude, that was bad."

"Shut up Austin," Chris muttered. She got up as well and threw her wind fans. They missed, but when they boomeranged back and she went to catch them, they hit her in the helmet and she stumbled back. She tripped over her own feet again and fell on her butt.

"What's wrong with you two?!" Jasper demanded. He pull Chris to her feet and she shook her head.

"Nothing. We're fine."

"Right Austin?"

The white ranger was leaning on Austin to get his feet under himself again. He pushed himself away from the green ranger and attempted to attack. Unfortunately this ended with him falling again. "What's going on?!"

"Guys! I need- ah!" The demon threw Leo into a lamppost and the red ranger crashed onto the ground. He laughed as he pointed his hand at her.

"Now for you to have a taste of my power!" he said as he hit also won't he lights. She put arms up in front of herself in defense. The light absorbed into her and she blinked. She felt a little stranger, but nothing seemed immediately wrong.

"Leo, you ok?!" Austin asked her.

"I am!" Leo stood up and grabbed her fallen rain sticks. "Get him!" She ran at him, but tripped and fell on the ground within a few feet.

"Ahahaha!" Clumsiton laughed. "You Rangers can't overcome my ability to make you clumsy!"

"That explains a lot," Andy muttered. He tried to get back up, but Austin pushed him back down.

"No way dude, you're too...clumsy right now." He and Jasper attacked Clumsiton, but their attacks were anything but coordinated. Every time Jasper went to hit the demon with his cloud maces, he found Austin's hammers there ahead of him. At one point it happened and one of his weapons hit one of Austin's.

"Can you not?!" Austin demanded, elbowing Jasper out of the way.

"Why don't you not?!" Jasper demanded, all but body-slamming Austin away.

"Jasper, Austin!" Leo shouted. "Stop!"

"Guys, knock it off!" Andy yelled. Clumsiton laughed. Clearly with them fighting amongst each other, it would be easy to take these two down. He raised his hand and whacked it across both Rangers. He sent them flying several yards. Austin yelled in pain when the back of his head slammed into the back of his helmet and pain shot down his spine. Jasper yelled in pain as well. His palms hit the ground and pain radiated form them all the way up to his elbows. His head hit off the ground and he was momentarily grateful for his helmet; until his face hit the inside of it.

"Jasper!" Chris yelled in concern.

"Austin!" Andy voiced. Leo tried to get up and go over to them, but she kept falling and tripping. Clumsiton continued to laugh as he approached the two injured Rangers. He held his hand out as he walked.

"You two are pathetic," he sneered. He hit them with the red and orange lights; which absorbed into their bodies.

"Who you calling-" Austin fell on his face as he tried to stand up.

"Now, that you Rangers, aren't a big threat anymore, I have more work to do." Wind and clouds wrapped around him in a funnel. When it dissipated he was gone. Leo sighed as she sat up in her knees. She brought her morpher up and turned it two clicks to the left.

"Storm chaser, online!" she said, summoning her bike.

"Storm chasers, online!" the others parroted, copying her. With their bikes within reach the five of them carefully used them to pull themselves to their feet. They'd look got on and Leo checked to make sure they had everyone.

"Let's get back to the house."

-Thunder Strike-

Once they're were back in the basement and they had parked their bikes, the Rangers de-morphed. "Quinn," Leo said. She walked over to Quinn, only to fall again. _I'm going to have so many bruises on my knees._ She stood up again and looked at her knees. She was wearing a skirt, as usual, so her knees were clearly a little banged up.

"You guys are like a bunch of baby giraffes on roller skates," Quinn observed. She winced when Jasper stumbled and fell onto one of her work tables.

"Thanks," Andy said, rolling his eyes.

"Well it's no thanks to these two," Chris said, nodding her head at Austin and Jasper.

"What's that supposed mean?!" Austin demanded, using one of the work tables to walk so he didn't fall again.

"It means you guys could've had that demon if you hadn't been arguing," Z told them. He looked at Leo. She recognized the look immediately, having dubbed it the this-is-your-job-as-red-ranger look, since he used it when she was supposed be handling something. She cleared her throat loudly, stopping Chris and Austin's argument almost instantly.

"Z is right," the red ranger said. "You two need to learn how to get along and work with each other. If you don't..." She wondered what would be a sufficient threat. She wasn't good with threats. "If you don't, you won't be fighting when the demon pops up."

"What?!" Jasper demanded. He didn't want to be left out of their duty. "That's not fair! Z!"

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't overrule Leo?" Z asked him. "She's the leader, so what she says goes."

Leo nodded. "If you don't work together you're more of a hinderance than a help to us. Understand?"

"Yes," Jasper signed.

"Got it," Austin muttered.

"Why don't you five try to make your way upstairs without dying?" Quinn suggested. "I'm working on a way for you guys to beat the demon without needing to use the finisher twice."

"Good," Leo nodded. "We're going to need it."

"Just leave it to me!" The Rangers all managed to make it to the stairs and all looked at each other, then at Leo.

"You can go first," Andy told her.

Leo sighed and held onto the handrail with both hands. She started climbing the stairs slowly, trying not to fall. The others followed one by one, moving just as cautiously. Falling on the flat ground and falling on the stairs were two different things. At one point Leo did fall, but she managed to keep herself from falling backwards and kept going. Z followed them, hoping they wouldn't try to brave the stairs.

Quinn meanwhile, kept working. She had five new of tags in scanners, wand was typing away furiously to code them. She knew they would be needed to finish off the current threat, and if the rushers went into battle without them, she wouldn't be able to get the new additions to them. She watched a simulation on one of her computers and frowned. "I have to get this right. If even one line of code doesn't add up this whole thing could be a disaster." She started, typing again, hoping that her brain would be able to fix this before the Rangers were needed again.

-Thunder Strike-

Once they made it to the fourth floor, which they managed with only a few people falling and no domino effects, the Rangers split up. Jasper grabbed Austin by the back of his shirt snd pulled the green ranger into his room.

"What the fuck dude?!" Austin complained, falling on the ground again at the sudden movement. He winced. He was still sore from the battle.

"You need to apologize," Jasper told him, sitting on his bed.

"Why?!" Austin demanded, not finding it worth his time and energy to get up. He simply sat up and stayed on the ground.

"Because you're the one who started this! Just apologize and we can get on with our lives!"

"Why should I?! I was just being friendly!"

"You were teasing me!"

"Which is how I show affection for my friends! I didn't mean anything by it! Jesus fucking Christ" Jasper was pretty sure he could feel Leo cringing. "What is it with you people always taking so negatively of me?!"

"I don't think highly of anyone who judges others based on their class!"

"Is that what you think I was doing?!" Austin demanded. He was genuinely hurt. "I wasn't doing that! I was teasing! It's how I show fucking affection!"

"Well that's not what anyone else who's teased me was doing! How was I supposed to know the difference?!"

Austin considered it. He could guess that Jasper had been teased because he came from a low-income family. "You should at least trust that as your friend, I was kidding."

"You honestly think we're friends?"

"Well, you've all grown on me. Even Princess. Especially Leo." He scowled when Jasper raised his eyebrows. "Not like that perv. She's like an innocent soul who I've found needs to be corrupted a little bit. And she's a good leader, so I've got mad respect for her."

"I'd dint think you had mad respect for anyone."

"Just those who respect me." Jasper nodded. Surprisingly, he could understand that. "And I don't want to get benched ether. So whatever you need to say, say it and we can be done with this."

"You still don't think you'd did anything wrong?"

Austin shrugged. "Hard to say. Let's see what you've got to say and we'll see."

Jasper thought it over, then nodded. This seemed like the best way to get back on even terms with the green ranger. Which he knew was his only way to not get benched. "Ok, it's like this..."


	25. Episode 8: The Longest Mile Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode VIII: Longest Mile

Chapter Three: We Are Teammates

A/N: Finally got this episode fInished! Unfortunately I won't be able to update this week because I'll be busy and camping. So enjoy this chapter!

"I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am." -Prince Zuko; Avatar the Last Airbender

"I'm sure you can imagine that people haven't had a lot of nice things to say about me," Jasper said. "Kids can be cruel if you're wearing clothes that are dirty because your family cant afford a washer and dryer, and you smell because your water got shut off. The school that my sub,inns are going to now, the one where I...you know..."

"Snuck out yeah I remember," Austin nodded. "Continue."

"Well I used to go there. Once upon a we lived in a tiny apartment that only had one bedroom. Then we moved into a tiny house with one bedroom when my dad finally got a job. I'm guessing he was laid off again if they've moved back into that hell-hole."

"So your family plays jump rope with the poverty line. How does that explain why you almost killed me?"

"It's because I'm so poor that I'm sensitive. My whole life people have looked down on me and treated me bad because of it. Like not having money somehow makes me less of a person. I was always: Smelly-J, or Thrift Shop Bum...but sometimes it was like I wasn't Jasper. It felt like all anyone could see was that was I poor and nothing else. So I started putting a stop to it. When I was 12 I started working at a karate dojo in exchange for attending classes. And I started fighting kids who bullies me. If they called me names, I punched them. If they knocked my books out of my hands, I shoved them into lockers. You get the picture. I was just...tired of always being a target."

Austin nodded. "So because you're so used to pounding on people instead of using your words like they taught us in Second Step, you started to pound on me when I was making fun of you."

"Exactly."

"Well, I'm not an expert here, but it seems to me that you need to not pound people when they say bad things about you. I mean, if I hit every person who called me a "crack-head" or "lazy" I'd still be in juvie, except for assaulting a police officer instead of possession with intent to sell."

"I know- intent to sell?"

"That was a trumped up charge. Like I needed to sell my drugs."

"But you are lazy and a crack-head."

"Was a crack-head. I'm clean now. And so what? You really are poor. People are always going to judge you Jasper. It doesn't give you the right to hit people. You should ignore them. You've got a lot going for you. You're smart and you can obviously kick-butt. So fuck them."

Jasper nodded. He couldn't believe he was getting advice from someone who had blue and green highlights in his hair. "You're the last person I'd expect to get advice from."

"Yeah well I get where you're coming from. Everyone I meet tends to think I'm some kid of a spoiled brat because my dad owns half the buildings in the city."

"Who owns the other half?"

"My mom. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I know what it feels like to be bullied. In some ways, we all do. I'm sure if we got Ace in here he'd know a lot about it." Jasper nodded. He figured Andy was just used to dealing with being harassed. "But he doesn't beat on people. And nether should you. It's very caveman. Not well-meaning nerd."

"I guess maybe you're right. I shouldn't have pounced on you like that. I'm sorry."

"Whoa?! You're apologizing to me? Yo that therapist my mom sent me to was right. Talking about how screwed up you feel does make everything less screwed up."

"I guess so." Their morphers beeped and a second later it was followed by Quinn swearing. Jasper and Austin laughed when it was followed by a gasp.

"What have I said about not giving Leo a heart attack?" Andy asked through their morphers.

"Let's get going," Austin said. He and Jasper stood up and teleported down to the basement. Leo, Andy, and Chris were already there.

"The sensors found the demon at the corner of Ledgemont and Brooke," Quinn said.

"Ave or street?"

"Does it matter? You're teleporting there on your bikes. Speaking of which..." She grabbed the five new dog tags out of the scanners and held them out. "Take these."

"Why?" Leo asked.

"They're programmed to do something amazing. Just switch them out with your regular weapons tags on your bikes when you're ready to use the finisher."

"Alright. Let's go!" Z shook his head when nearly all of them fell on their faces when they tried get to their bikes. Andy and Chris crawled, only tripping over their own hands a couple, of times. Leo used the wall to keep herself upright as she walked. Jasper and Austin used each other, literally leaning on each other to get there.

"Don't get off your bikes!" Quinn remained them. "Without them you're a danger to yourselves."

"Don't worry!" Chris yelled as they started up their storm chasers. "We won't!" They drove out and teleported away.

-Thunder Strike-

Once in the city, the Rangers rode past people who were tripping over everything from thin air to mail boxes. Luckily the mayhem was distracting people from noticing the five teens zipping by on their bikes. Unfortunately, it made Leo frown. _Who knows how much chaotic energy this is creating? _They made it to the site of the attack and saw that Clumsiton and a large group of Darklings.

"Yo demons!" Austin shouted. The demons looked at them as all the Rangers lined up.

"You need to stop messing with people!" Jasper yelled.

"And who's going to stop me, clumsy Rangers?!" Clumsiton asked.

The Rangers all revved their bikes and drove at the demon at top speed. He didn't expect them to do it though, and jumped to the side. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

"Red rain ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"Green lightning ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!" the five of them yelled.

"Darklings, get them!" Clumsiton ordered.

"Jasper, Austin, you guys keep him occupied and weaken him. We'll take care of the Darklings," Leo said.

"You got it Leo!" Jasper nodded.

"One friend demon coming right up!" Austin cheered. He and Jasper rode off as the as the three took in the Darklings. Leo rode through them, firing blasts from her storm chaser at will. She created large clouds of...clouds as she cleared up the fray. A group of them tried to create a gust of wind strong enough to blow her over, but Leo drove around them. She fired off blasts again and dissipated them. She saw Andy maneuvering through the demons with ease. He drove left and right, shooting them so fast that they didn't know what to do.

The white ranger put his foot in the ground to keep himself upright on a particularly sharp turn. He and to admit it was weird fighting only from the bikes. The Darklings tried to blow him over, but he spun around, skirting the edge of the gust, he drove through them and kept firing. Chris jumped a group of them and turned sharply when she hit the ground. She shot down the Darklings. A group converged on her, but she smiled. She drove through the ones in front of her, and drove in a circle to take out the rest. She rounded on anther group and drove at them.

Austin and Jasper meanwhile, were weaving in front of each other to throw off Clumsiton. Their plan worked and he wasn't prepared when Jasper was the on who shot him, despite the fact that Austin was the one in front. Austin circled around and shot the demon from behind. Clumsiton stumbled forward and growled.

"You Rangers are getting annoying!" He whipped his arms at them, but he missed Jasper when the black ranger suddenly teleported away. "Where'd he go?"

"Here!" Jasper yelled, coming out of his teleportation behind Clumsiton. He shot him and Austin teleported away in green light. He re-appeared in front of Clumsiton, shooting him as well. The demon hit him in the chest and Austin had to take a second to stable himself. He moved to the left as Jasper went right. The drove near each other then both disappeared in teleports. They re-appeared and hit Clumsiton in the chest with both their blasts. He stumbled back and growled in anger.

"Oh no, we made the clown mad," Austin taunted. "I think he needs some cheering up. Don't you Jas?"

"Absolutely Austin."

The two Rangers rode at him at top speed. They both hit him on their side, the circled around and each hit him on the opposite side they had before. Clumsiton fell on the ground and Austin and Jasper stopped long enough to high-five. "You Rangers think your so powerful-"

"Well considering the fact that you're the one on the ground right now and not us, I'd say we're doing pretty good," Austin said. The other Rangers joined them and Leo admired their handy work.

"Good work guys," she said.

"Agh!" Clumsiton huffed getting to his feet. "I won't lose to brats like you!"

"It ain't nice to call people names!" Austin said, driving towards him. He and Jasper him again, followed by Andy and Chris. Leo followed them and fired off blasts from her bike. The five of them turned and rode back, each hitting him with blasts again.

"Ah!"

"Let's finish this guy!" Chris suggested.

"Let's see what these babies can do," Austin agreed. They took their weapons tags out of their bikes and put the new tags in. The new tags were silver, with a colored strip corresponding with their ranger colors.

"Storm chasers, attack mode!" they shouted. They all spread out so that they were in a circle surrounding Clumsiton.

"Looks like it's over for you," Jasper noted.

"Later loser!" Austin called.

"Hawk chaser, power up!" Leo shouted. She turned a new nob she saw on one of their handlebars.

"Tiger chaser, power up!"

"Bobcat chaser, power up!"

"Fox chaser, power up!"

"Falcon chaser, power up!"

"Storm chasers, fire!" They all pushed the new nod and each sent two blasts from the eyes of each of their animal heads. They all hit Clumsiton, making him glow with all give colors for second. They zipped through him and he exploded.

"That was awesome!" Austin cheered.

"Oh yeah it was!" Jasper agreed.

Tornidon sniggered as he raised his spear. "Your plan was brilliant all right."

"Shut up you imbecile!" Hurricous snapped as he raised his spear as well.

"Let's just make him big so the Rangers can blow him up again!" Blizzitor snapped.

"Chaotic energy, give his demon life again!" then threnody them chorused.

"Look alive!" Leo told the Rangers when the giant funnel clouds came down. They grabbed their new tags and out them back on their necks.

"Thunder zords, activate!" the five Rangers yelled.

"Thunder hawk zord, powered up!"

"Thunder tiger zord, powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat zord, powered up!"

"Thunder fox zord, powered up!"

"Thunder falcon zord, powered up!"

"Thunder Strike Megazord!"'The five of them chorused. Clumsiton laughed and hit the Megazord with both his hands. It stumbled back and almost fell. The Rangers just barely managed to keep their machine upright when they were hit again.

"Ideas?!" Chris asked, putting her arms ever her head as sparks from damaged zords.

"You guys still have those new tags?" Quinn asked them.

"We do," Austin confirmed.

"Put them in and summon the storm chasers."

"What?! But we're like a hundred feet tall!" Andy yelled. He was thrown backwards when they were hit again. Chris and Austin quickly fired off some blasts from the arms.

"Just do it!"

"Alright," Leo said. The five of them put the dog tags in the slots on their piloting consoles. They all turned the sides of their morphers two clicks.

"Storm chasers, online!" They all shouted as they held their morpher hand out in front of them, hands in fists, and pushing in the watched face of their morphers. Leo's mouth dropped open, as did Chris'.

"Holy fuck," Austin smiled.

The storm chasers were racing towards them. Unbelievably to the Rangers, they started grow. Wow hit a few seconds they were big enough to fit on the megazord. The megazord jumped up and landed on Andy and Jasper's bikes. They fit like a pair of roller skates, with the handle bars bending back against the feet and the eyes glowed for a second as the feet locked in. Chris and Austin's bikes jumped up to the arms. The handlebars on both of them bent down to the sides and the whole bike bent at the middle. They locked in on the arms and both tires stuck out over the hands. Leo's bike took a different direction. It flattened out with the handle bars bending so they formed a point and the front wheel jumped off and moved to the back, opposite the second one. The megazord gripped the weapon by the handle bars.

"Storm Chaser Megazord!" the five Rangers yelled.

"This is awesome!" Jasper cheered. The megazord swung at Clumsiton with its new weapon. It hit him and he stumbled back. It jabbed the demon, sending him backwards. Clumsiton attentions to hit the megazord, but the other hand blocked him easily with the tires over the heads. The Megazord swung its weapon again and Leo pushed a button. It made the tires on the end spin at crazy speeds. The Megazord stabbed it's weapon into the demon and the tires spun against each other and into him. Clumsiton fell back again.

"Let's end this guys," Leo said. They flipped the third switch and all pushed a button they'd never needed before.

"Storm chaser final strike!" The Megazord raced forward on its skates. It skated froward held its weapon out. The wheels on the weapon spun at impossible speeds as well as the ones on the hands. The Megazord punched the demon and drove strut through him with its weapon.

"No! This isn't fair! It just isn't fair!" Clumsiton shouted as he exploded again.

"The storm had passed!" Leo shouted when the high-five train reached her.

-Thunder Strike-

"I can walk again!" Andy cheered when they were back in the basement.

"And Quinn programmed us an awesome new Megazord combo," Chris smiled. "That was really powerful."

"Hopefully it will only get more powerful from here," Quinn told them. "My latest readings show increased levels of chaotic energy in the city. The demons are getting more effective."

"Well, all we can do is keep fighting them demon by demon," Leo said.

Quinn nodded. The Rangers went upstairs and Z turned to follow. He glanced back at Quinn and saw her staring at her computers. "Did you sleep?" he asked her.

"Maybe..."

"Quinn."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"Very funny."

"I was bung serious."

"At least tell me what you're working on."

"Nope." Quinn shook her head.

"Fine. Just take care of yourself." Z passed Leo, who'd hung around. "Watch her," he whispered to the red ranger. Leo nodded and Z went upstairs. Leo sat down on a stool and stayed Quinn work.

Upstairs, Chris Jasper, and Andy were sprawled out in the living room. Chris sighed. "How can they get this powerful this fast?"

"Seems like they're good a t what they do," Jasper responded. "But we'll get them. Eventually. Right Austin?"

Austin smiled. "Hell yeah Gutter Punk. You me, Princess over here-"

"Don't call me princess!" Chris snapped. Austin waved his hand at her.

"The Holy Smack Down, Ace, Computer Q, and even Z. We're going to show those demons a thing or two!"

Jasper smiled and nodded. "That we will buddy. That we will."

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: The boys are all transported into one of Andrew's stories, and the girls must hold off the monster attacks until Quinn can free them.


	26. Episode 9: Land of Fiction Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

*_Italic_ _indicates_ _thought_

Episode IX: Land of Fiction

Chapter One: Fictional Travel

A/N: Hey guys! I finally got this chapter done! The song at the beginning is one of my favorite that we sing in church: "The Cross of Christ" by Passion ft Chris Tomlin. Let's start the episode!

"Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us." -Paul Theroux

Quinn mumbled under her breath as she typed. She was getting so frustrated that her fingers were barely hitting the keys on her keyboard fast enough. Eventually she had to stop and sit back. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "There, the second set of configurations and coding is downloading," she said. "Nothing for me to do now but wait a few hours." She rolled away and left her computer. She went upstairs, making sure to lock the basement door with a code only she knew so no one could get in.

She found her way into Leo's room; walking quietly so not to disturb the red ranger as she played. She sat on her bed and watched as her fingers danced across the keys of the keyboard. Leo's voice carried in amazing pitch with the keys as she played.

"Our God is high and lifted up

"It is the cross, my only plea

The blood he shed delivers me

Our savior's arms are open wide

A love so great, the cross of Christ

"See the lamb of God

See the Father's love

All to Jesus we owe

He paid it all

"See the lamb of God

See the Father's love

All to Jesus we owe

He paid it all

"And all to Jesus we owe

He paid it all

"It is the cross, my only plea

The blood he shed delivers me

Our savior's arms are open wide

A love so great, the cross of Christ

"It is the cross, my only plea

The blood he shed delivers me

Our Savior's arms are open wide

A love so great, the cross of Christ

"It is the cross

See the lamb of God

See the Father's love

All to Jesus we owe

He paid it all

"See the lamb of God

See the Father's love

All to Jesus we owe

He paid it all

"It is the cross my only plea

The blood he shed delivers me

Our savior's arms are open wide

A love so great, the cross Christ."

Quinn stayed quiet as the song as finished snd Leo looked at her. Quinn clapped and smiled. "That was beautiful," she told the red ranger.

"Thanks. You finally decided to join the rest of us who don't live in the basement?" Leo asked her. Quinn had been spending all her time in the basement lately. No one knew what she was doing, not even Z, but it was obvious to everyone she was obsessing over it.

"Yeah. My brain feels like it's going to explode. I'm so bored!" Quinn threw herself back on Leo's bed and the red ranger nodded slowly. She and the other Rangers knew that Quinn being bored was a very bad thing. She tended to get very...uncontrollable and bounced off the walls when there was nothin occupying her mind.

"Why don't you sleep a little bit?" she suggested.

"I can't sleep. My brain is too...awake to sleep. Sometimes I don't sleep for days because I'm just not tired." Quinn got up and looked around the room. "But at least I have you to talk to. It's so much better than wandering around this big, empty house trying to entertain myself."

Leo nodded. "I can keep playing music for you if you want. I have other hymns I was going to play."

"Why hymns? I thought you really liked your violin."

"Song is an important part of worship. My parents always told me I should thank God for my talent by honoring him with song"

Quinn nodded. "I see. Well, I don't want to bother you." Which was true. Even though she found it mesmerizing to watch Leo play music, and she didn't really understand religion, Quinn followed the other's lead and left Leo alone when she was doing things like praying and playing worship songs. She got up and left the room, closing the door behind her. She wandered over to the library, deciding to read. She walked in and saw Andy was at a table typing away. He looked up when she came in and took his headphones out of her ears.

"Hey, long time no see."

"Very funny."

"What brings you up from the depths?"

"Boredom." She started walking along the walls, trying to find a book to read. Andy watched her with interest. She pulled a couple of books off the shelf and looked at them. She put them back and continued to wander.

"How do you keep track of which ones you've read and which ones you haven't?" Andy inquired.

"Oh, I don't," Quinn answered, still browsing the shelves. "I've read them all."

"What?! There's no way!"

"Why not?"

"Who honestly has that much-" Andy stopped just shot of say 'free time'. Quinn seemed to realize what he'd been about to say though.

"Well I do since activities in the house are all I ever have time for." She looked back at the shelf and selected three books. "I love this trilogy."

"Doesn't it get...boring reading the same books over and over again?"

"Well sure. But I get some new books on my birthday and Christmas and stuff. But I usually have those finished within a couple weeks."

"Impressive, you must really like reading."

"I love it! Reading is so much fun! It's like going on an adventure every time I open a book."

"Think so?" Andy asked, smiling at the newfound similarity with Quinn.

"Absolutely. Because that's the thing about books; they let you travel without ever moving your feet."

Andy nodded in agreement. "I agree. Reading can be like...finding a friend who will never judge you."

"Or maybe the only friend you ever had. Fictional characters were the only people I ever knew before you five." Andy nodded in understanding as Quinn left the library. He was about to go back to writing when meh noticed that's she'd left the door open. He got up and went to go shut it. He paused in the doorway when he saw Quinn curled up on the window seats reading. He turned and saw Jasper leaning against the wall; causing him to jump.

"What're you doing, skulking around in the hall like that?" Andy asked him. Jasper jumped and looked over at Quinn, before quickly pushing Andy back into the library. He shut the door behind them and Quinn looked up. She looked around before looking down and continuing to read.

Inside the library, Andy was giving Jasper a look of disbelief. "What the heck?! First you were skulking then you push me?!"

"Skulking? Really?" Jasper asked him.

"Sorry, that's my writers' vocabulary again. But still why would you-"

"Never mind."

"But-"

"I said never mind!"

"Alright, geez." The door re-opened snd Austin came in.

"I was passing by and heard yelling," the green ranger smiled. "Naturally I was hurt that I wasn't invited to the party."

"Who would want you at a party?" Andy asked him.

"Hey, I partied hard. Almost tried LSD but then decided against it." He sat down in a chair and leaned back, putting his feet up on the table. "Figured I'd stick to my drug of choice."

"Yeah, you're a real D.A.R.E. success story. Now will you two get lost? I need some peace to write."

Austin leaned back more and tilted his head back. "How many books do you suppose we in here?"

"At least a few hundred," Jasper replied, sitting on the edge of the table.

"And Quinn's read everyone of them," Andy supplied as he sat back down in front of his laptop.

"What?! Now way!"

"It's true. She just told me herself."

"I believe it," Austin nodded. "Computer Q is crazy smart. Only someone who reads a lot could get that smart. Plus she has plenty of free time."

"Quinn is pretty smart," Jasper smiled. He saw the look Austin and Andy were giving him and rubbed the back of his head. "So if she's read all the books, why is reading now?"

"What else does she have to do?" Andy asked. "She's bored, and it's ether this or someone has to play tag with her in the halls."

Austin quickly shook his head. He still felt out of shape from the last time he'd needed to play tag with Quinn. The whole team was sore for a few days after that. "Never again."

"This wouldn't be a problem if Z would at least let her into the yard once in a while," Jasper said.

"It's freaking walled in for God's sake!"

Andy sighed. "Can you two please-" He sighed as their morphers chirped at them. He got up and joined Jasper and Austin in the middle of the room as they all teleported down to the basement. When they got there they arrived a few acid ends before Leo and Chris. A minute later Quinn bolted down the stairs and to her computer.

"You know Quinn, you ought to make yourself a teleportation device," Chris advised her, but the other girl merely shook her head.

"I can't. Z is afraid I'll teleport outside or something. The attack is at Thompson Street."

"Lets go guys!" Leo told them. The five of them ran over to their bikes and hopped on. They statutes them up and teleported to the battle.

-Thunder Strike-

When they got to the battle they discovered that the Darklings had scared off all the civilians already. They got off their bikes and each put a hand to their morphers. "Hey demons!" Leo yelled, getting their attention.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five of them yelled, morphing. They split up and divided themselves among the demons. Leo had her blaster out and was firing off quickly. She destroyed two in a row and kicked a third in the chest. She artfully avoided the out-stretched arms of a group; throwing her blaster through their heads. She jumped and flipped laver another small group, rolling as she landed so she could snatch her morpher up. She came up on one knee and started firing again. The Darklngs advancing towards her started dropping one by one; taken out by her now much more sure shots.

Chris was ducking and weaving with her wind fans through the crowd that had surrounded her. They grabbed at her from all sides, but she sliced their arms and hands with ease. She flicked her wrist and sent one of her fans flying. It spun as it cut down the Darklings near her. It boomeranged back and she threw the other one the other way she caught it. While she waited for her second fan to come back, she kicked one in the head and punched another with her free hand. She caught her wind fan as it flew back to her and she swung them opposite ways. This allowed her to decapitate several Darklings in front of her. She was blown off her feet by a sudden gust, but she landed back on them and ran at the demons that had blown her back.

Not far from her, Austin was bashing his way through the Darklings with his hammers. He swung his left one, and then his right one to take out two. He spun around and threw one of them. It flew through several heads and returned to the green ranger, who immediately used it to bash in several more heads. He smacked two in the torso and chest with his other hand as his left one was doing the same. He pulled them in, inviting the Darklings to get closer to him. When they got close enough, he jumped up and spun around to take them out. He smiled and swung at another Darkling that had run straight at him.

Andy was firing from his blaster, moving at a fast pace to keep the Darklings away from him. He grabbed his weapons tag from his neck. "Thunder weapons, activate!" He caught his snow scrapers and jumped up. He swung them with force as he came back down. This disintegrated the Darklings that were closets to him. Two snuck up on him and grabbed his arms. The white ranger spun his weapons so he had readjusted his grip and pulled them across the demons' wrists. They let go and he quickly finished them off. He saw a group of about five readying to blow him off his feet and he tossed his weapons at them. While the snow scrapers took out those demons, he punched and kicked the ones that had decided to jump on him. He caught his snow scrapers and slashed at the demons on ether inside of him with both.

Not far off, Jasper was thinning out the Darklings near himself with his cloud maces. He moved with a practiced ease as he spun the maces. He hit three through the heads and another two in the chest with his other hand. He thew them both in opposite directions and switched to hand-to-hand. He ducked and punched several. He spun and kicked another, and followed up with a another couple punches. He caught his cloud maces as they returned to him and he continued to take the demons out with them. He swung them left and right as he moved quickly through the crowd. He spun around and hit four in their chests and kept moving.

Leo was just finishing off the Darklings near her when she noticed a distinct lack of a moderately powerful demon in the area. "Is it just Darklings?" she asked.

"Looks like it," Chris agreed as she finished off the Darklings close to herself.

"Just a nuisance attack," Andy said. Their morphers chirped again.

"Guys," Quinn told them. "Get to Anderson Ave now!"

"Why?! What's going on?" Leo asked as they ran to retired their bikes.

"Major chaotic energy levels are being detected there along with a demon."

"Alright. " They had just gotten on their bikes when a demon suddenly appeared in front of them. Leo, Chris, and Jasper reacted immediately and fired from their bikes. The demon disappeared again and reappeared behind them.

"What-" Austin began, but then he was thrown forward and just managed to keep himself on his storm chaser. "What the fuck?!"

"He keeps disappearing!" Jasper yelled as he fired from his blaster as well.

The demon laughed. "Having a difficult time Rangers?!" he asked them. He reappeared by Chris and Andy took the opportunity to get a good look at him. He was of a medium build and a navy color. His body was covered in circles that looked like portals, not unlike the ones he kept creating for himself to jump through. His beady eyes betrayed his apparent joy as he kept bouncing around the Rangers. "You can't catch me!" he laughed. "You can't a catch me!"

"Like hell we can't!" Austin snapped. "Come on guys!" He, Andy, and Jasper all revved up and drove at the demon.

"Boys don't!" Leo yelled, but it was too late. Teleporto put his hands near his chest and created a circle of energy between them as one was above the other. He spread his arms apart and the circle was now large than him and full of swirling dark energy. The three Rangers didn't stop in time and ended up going through the portal. The demon laughed as he let the portal dis spear along with the boys.

"Andy, Jasper!" Chris yelled.

"Austin! What did you do with them?!"

"I sent them somewhere. No idea where, but away from here!"

"Bring them back!" Leo and Chris fried at him, but he created another portal and their shots went straight in. They didn't see another portal that appeared behind them, or the shots that hit them in the back. They fell on the ground as their own shots hit them and sent pain radiating through their bodies. They could hear the demon laughing at them.

"I have more people to displace! Bye Rangers!" He created another portal and jumped through it.

Leo and Chris pulled themselves up with their bikes and got on. Leo pushed the communication button on her morpher. "Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you locate the guys?"

"No. Their morphers aren't giving off a signal anywhere in the city."

"I think we need to find that demon," Chris told Leo. "We need to get rid of him."

"Think that'll bring them back?"

"Doesn't it get rid of the spell every time?"

"But this isn't a spell," the red ranger pointed out. "Quinn?"

"Um...I don't know if destroying him will bring the boys back," Quinn admitted. "Sorry."

"It's ok. Send us the coordinates of where that demon is."

"There's multiple ones-"

"Send them all. We'll have to split up."

"Got it."

Leo and Chris nodded as the coordinates were sent straight to their storm chasers. "Lest get rolling," Chris said.

"I'll keep looking for the guys," Quinn said. "I'll see if I can get in contact with them."

"You do that," Leo nodded. "I have absolute faith in you Quinn."

"Thanks. I won't let you down!"


	27. Episode 9: Land of Fiction Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode IX: Land of Fiction

Chapter Two: The Problems with Teleporting

A/N: This took way longer than I thought it would. I should warn you guys I'm getting into my busy season so updates may get a little scarce for a while. I'll do my best though.

"Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us." -Paul Theroux

Andy managed to pull the breaks on his storm chaser just after he went through the portal. He stopped and looked at Jasper and Austin. "You guys ok?"

"Yeah," Jasper nodded. "Austin?"

"Freaking great," Austin replied. "Just one little problem...where the hell are we?!"

"I wish I knew." The three boys looked around. They were in a city of some kind, but they couldn't tell it wasn't their city. "I don't think we're in Cliffton anymore."

"Thanks Dorothy. Should we go see the wizard of fucking Oz now?"

"I know this place," Andy whispered. "But...no...that's impossible!"

"What is?" Jasper asked.

"Come on," Andy said as he de-morphed. "Follow me." They drove through the city and the other two de-morphed as well. He led his friend through the crowded streets of the city. They passed a bank, and he nearly stopped when he saw the name. _Oh man there's no way this is real._ They turned left and then right and eventually stopped. Andy stared up at the building where they'd stopped.

"Andison City Youth Shelter," Jasper read. "Andy why are we here?"

"Isn't Andison City the name of the place where your...super ace lives?" Austin asked.

"His name is Captain Ace. And yeah, it is."

"But...that would mean..." Jasper blinked. "You don't mean that demon sent us to a fictional world?! Like...one you created?!"

"Yeah. I think he did."

"So," Austin said as they parked their bikes in the fenced-in parking lot. "We're in a fictional story now? Man, this is weirder than than a floating head."

Jasper pushed the com button on his morpher. "Quinn? Hey Quinn! Leo?! Chris?! Anyone?!"

"Somehow I don't think you'll get through," Austin said. "Considering how we're in a fucking comic book!"

"It's not a comic book!" Andy objected. "It's a novel. Captain Ace is a series of novels."

"Ok," Jasper said, waving his hands. He was glad that no one was in the parking lot with them. He wasn't sure if Andy's world had its own Arkham Asylum, but he didn't want to find out. "So, if this world only exists in your novels, then we must be in one."

"Great, now I'm a fictional character!" Austin threw his hands in the air in defeat. "Because why the hell not?!"

"Ok, Austin chill. Andy, can you figure out which book we're in?"

"Well," Andy said, leaning on his storm chaser. "There's only three. I'm working on a fourth right now. It's impossible to say for now."

"How would we know?"

"Based on the villain. The first book had a guy who controlled people's minds. The second was a despondent teen who turned on the society that shunned him. The third was a woman who tried to take over the world. Right now I'm writing a story with a main villain who kidnaps kids from the LGBT+ shelter where Captain Ace works to do experiments on them."

"What sort of twisted brain do you have?!" Austin demanded.

"I'm a writer! I turn my pain and frustrations into art!"

"Well we need to figure out what to do," Jasper told them. "At least until the girls can save us."

"How do we do that?" asked Austin.

"Well we could wander around the city," Andy suggested. "I mean, how many authors get to visit the world that they create?! It's like Stan Lee-"

"Being in his own movies?" Austin suggested. "Because he already is. Like a freaking ninja."

"How about we stick with that Captain Ace guy?" Jasper suggested. "If we stay with him, it might give us access to gear to contact the girls, or even get home."

"Would he be able to help us? Does he have some kind of bat cave we can sneak into?"

"Kind of, yeah," Andy admitted. "But-"

"So if we got close to him would it help us get into his...bat cave?" Jasper asked.

"Well...yes."

"Then let's find him and attach ourselves to him!"

"No!"

"Why not?!" Austin demanded.

"I made him! That would be unbelievably weird!"

"Well too bad because we need help. And your hero may be the best one to help us. So, let's go inside, meet Captain Ace, and get his help."

"And tell him what?! Oh hi, I'm a super hero from another dimension where you're just a fictional character, and by the way, I was the one who made you! He'd think we're crazy!"

"Well we have to do something," Austin pointed out. "I don't want to spend the rest of my existence, as a part of someone's stupid story. The only way this could be worse, was if it was a fanfiction. That would be...gah!"

"Let's go inside and meet him," Jasper said. "We don't have any other options, or ideas to get home."

Andy sighed. Clearly this wasn't an argument he was going to win. "Fine. Let's go." He led the other two Rangers inside the shelter. They walked into the first, and largest room which had computers at a circle table, a corner that had bookshelves and couches, lockers against the far wall, and several doorways going sow where else on the wall on their right as well as the far one and on their left. The white ranger stood in absolute shock. He couldn't believe he was actually inside the shelter. His heart stopped when he heard a voice he'd only ever heard inside his head.

"Can I help you boys?" The three of them turned around and were greeted by a sight that almost made Andy faint. He stumbled back into Jasper, who held onto his arm. The man facing them was about six feet tall, and well built, like a marine or a navy seal. He had light, sandy brown hair and freckles on his pale face. His ice blue eyes matched the warmth of his light blue shirt he wore. He smiled broadly at them.

Andy opened his mouth, but no words came out. Indeed, even sounds seemed beyond him at the moment. Jasper sighed and nudged him. "Sorry about him. He's...shy."

"Listen dude," Austin said. "We're like...not able to go home...so..."

The man held up his hand. "Say no more my young friends. This shelter is a safe place for folks like you and me. We offer counseling, beds, showers, clothes, food, you name it. My name is Asa Arrowsmith."

"I'm Jasper," Jasper said shaking Asa's hand. "This is Andy and Austin."

"Nice to meet you all. Would you like me to show you around?"

Andy nodded, still unable to speak. What did one say to a fictional a charter they's created? He was pretty sure where Asa was concerned, apologizing for all the stuff he'd put the poor guy through in his entire existence. "We'd like that," Jasper nodded. He and Austin both gave Andy a small push so he'd start walking. The three Rangers were slightly on guard. Not that they didn't trust this fictional character, but they'd been put here by a demon. They ever knew what tricks a demon had up their sleeves. Andy did his best to contain his excitement. He was actually in the shelter. The place he'd dreamed up when he was thirteen.

Here it was, in every detail. Everything exactly as he'd imagined it. He smiled as they followed Asa in it the living quarters. The white ranger's gaze flickered over the bunks, coming to rest in a couple of kids who were in there sleeping. He wondered which kids they were. He glanced up at Asa, who was telling them about the shelter. Andy more or less tuned him out. He already knew the manifest by heart. _To provide a safe environment to some of societies most vulnerable youths. To be a voice of reason and voice of change for all the LGBT+ kids who needed it. To be the family they so rightly deserved._

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn sighed as she uselessly tried to track the boys' morphers again. She'd previously made sure each one had a tracking chip in it that she could access ether via satellite or the morphing grid. She tried to come up with a way she could get a hold of them. Her brain was basically running in circles trying to figure it out.

"Hey Quinn?" Leo said, her voice coming through the communication systems.

"Yeah Leo?" Quinn replied, still thinking.

"Have you thought of anything- whoa!"

"Leo?!"

"I'm ok! Just had to avoid a blast that got teleported back at me. Oh gosh!" Quinn heard her tires skidding and Leo's muffled cries of pain. "Anyways, how close are we to getting the guys back?"

"Not very. I can't pin point their location. It's like they just disappeared off the face of the Earth. Which they pretty much did."

"Keep at it. I know you can- ah! Got to go!"

Quinn sighed as the communication cut out. She wished there was more she could do. She glanced at the map of attacks. The demon was able to teleport so fast that he was practically fighting the red and blue rangers at the same time. She scoured the readings of the teleport that had sent the boys who knew where, but she couldn't find any indications about where they were. She put her elbows on the desk and rested her forehead on her hands.

"You'll figure it out," Z said, coming down the stairs.

"Right now I'll I'm figuring out, is that I'm not doing that well at the one job I have."

"I'd say you have more than one job."

"No, I have one job. There's only one thing I can do to help I'm not doing a very good job at it right now."

"You're doing the best you can, and that's all the Rangers can ask from you."

Quinn smiled when Z put his hands on her shoulders. "If only there was a way for me to-"

"No."

""You haven't heard what I was going to say yet!"

"I'm sure it was going to involve you going outside."

"You don't know that."

"Well what were you going to suggest?"

"That I build a temporary teleporter, connect it to the teleportation path the guys went through, and-"

"And what? Go there?"

Quinn played with her hair. "Maybe."

Z sighed. "Quinn..."

"Come on Z!"

"No. The answer is no. Remember our agreement. You can do whatever you-"

"I know I know. I have absolute free reign down here, as long as I don't attempt to teleport out, build myself a morpher, or a means of escape."

"Escape is not the word I was going to use."

Quinn jerked her shoulders put his grip. "I think it's the perfect word." She sighed and moved a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. "Fine. I'll think of another way to save them."

"Thank you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can get out. I need to think."

Z nodded. "Alright." He kissed the top of her head and walked towards the stairs. He paused for a moment, looking back at Quinn, who was staring at a picture of her and her dad shed taped to the corner of one of the monitors. He went upstairs, leaving her to work.

-Thunder Strike-

Leo jerked her handles bars to the side, barely avoiding driving into a mailbox. She pulled the brakes and looked around. She'd been teleported to the other side of the city. She put her feet on the ground and raised her morpher near her mouth. "Chris?" she said, pressing the com button.

"I'm here Leo," Chris replied.

"Any sign of the demon?"

"Um...no. He's a slippery one."

"I know. Quinn hasn't made a lot of progress in finding the boys yet."

"If the two of us can defeat the demon, do you think that'll bring them back?"

"Who knows. Actually, Quinn probably would."

Chris nodded, then remembered Leo couldn't see her. "Yeah. Where would we be without Quinn?" Whatever Leo was going to say next was cut off by screaming. Chris turned her head towards the noise. "Leo, Declan Parkway."

"I'm on my way."

The blue ranger revved the throttle and took off towards the sounds of the screams. She drove in between the traffic on the street, moving agilely. She heard more screams and looked around to see if she could locate the source. She saw a ground of people who'd been cornered by Darklings. The demons had formed a half circle around the civilians; who were all pressing themselves closer together and against the building behind them. Chris raced forward and fired off blasts from her storm chaser. She destroyed the first two and hopped off her bike.

At that moment, Leo drove out of a teleport and made a beeline for them. As Chris pulled out her blaster and started firing at the Darklings. Leo got off her bike and ran to the people who were crowded against the building. "Go! Get away from here!" she told them. She took out her blaster and started firing at the demons who tired to get to the people. The weapon still made her heart jump a little every time she used it. She kept firing at the demons, focusing instead on the screams of the innocent civilians behind her. Chris kicked one of the demons in the head and jumped back as another tried to blow her backwards.

She fired her weapon in rapid succession as she took out the rest of the ones on her side. She turned and went to the civilians. Leo did the same and the two girls looked over the group "Are you all ok?" There was some collective nodding and affirming comments.

"Good," Leo said. "I'd get out here. They shouldn't come back, but you're better of safe than sorry." They turned to leave as the group started unknotting.

Chris got on her bike and started it up. She felt a tug on her skirt and looked down. A little girl with blonde pig-tails was looking up at her. "Yes?"

"Thank you, Blue Ranger," the girl said.

Chris smiled. "It's no problem kid. All in a day's work."

"When I grow up I want to be a power ranger. Like you!"

Chris glanced up at Leo, who shook her head in a don't-look-at-me kind of way. She looked back down at the girl. "Go for it Kid." The little girl beamed and Chris's morpher beeped. She checked the coordinates sent. She looked over at Leo who gave her a nod. The two of them drove away and teleported to the coordinates. _We need to hold off Teleporto until we find the boys. Which I hope is soon._

-Thunder Strike-

"So that's the tour," Asa said to the boys. "What'd you think?"

"Lame," Austin muttered. Jasper and Andy both elbowed him in the ribs.

"Behave," Jasper whispered. "Thank so much."

"My pleasure. Anything I can do to help you boys just let me know," Asa smiled.

"If you could help us get home that'd be a great help," Austin said, crossing his arms.

"I know this can be hard. Believe me. But-"

"Look, you don't understand," Andy began, finally saying something. He stopped when the building started shaking.

"What's going on?!" Austin demanded.

"Earthquake?" Jasper suggested.

"Somehow I don't think we're that lucky!" Andy exclaimed. Jasper was about to say something when the wall suddenly exploded. Andy felt heat and pressure expose over his body as he was thrown backwards. He hit the ground and everything went black. Jasper didn't black our immediately after he hit the ground. He lofted he head up in time to see some people climbing through the hole that used to be the wall when it dropped. Austin landed on a pile of debris, cracking his head off cement and knocking him out cold. Asa blinked and got up for where he'd landed.

"Everyone run!" he ordered. The few kids who had been sleeping, thankfully no where near the blast zone, led the room in a hurry. He tried to get up, but his limbs weren't cooperating. He saw the three boys all out cold. He hoped they were just unconscious. He saw a woman standing just inside the hole. "Who...who are you?"

"You can call me The Scientist," the woman smiled. She snapped her fingers and pointed at the three unconscious teens.

"Grab them." A group of teenagers came in and started grabbing the boys.

"Leave them alone!"

"So sorry, but I need them." She smiled as they were carried out. "Bye."

Asa shook his head and lurched to his feet. He ran to the hole, but they were already gone. He saw a truck speeding away and cursed. He hit his hand off an edge on the hole. "Dammit. Don't worry boys. I'll save you. I won't let her get away with this."


	28. Episode 9: Land of Fiction Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode IX: Land of Fiction

Chapter Three: Real Life Vs Fiction

A/N: Hey readers! Sorry about the long delay on this. I've been unbelievably busy since school started. But things are finally starting to clam down a little and I had time to finish this. Big stuff coming next epaiode so I hope you're ready!

"Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us." -Paul Theroux

"Ugh..." Andy moaned as he opened his eyes. He tried to move his hand and rub them, but he couldn't move it. He lifted his head up and looked down at his body. He was lying on a metal table with his wrists and ankles strapped down by metal cuffs. "Oh man!" He looked around and saw Jasper and Austin on ether side of him. "Jasper! Austin!"

"Mmm..." Jasper groaned. He cringed in pain right before he open his eyes. "Andy?" He tried to move his hands, only to meet the resistance of the metal cuffs. "What's going on?!"

"Dude, there's no need to yell," Austin said. "My head is freaking killing me." He felt the metal cuffs on his wrists and ankles and frowned. "What...what the hell?!" He jerked back and forth trying to get free.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know! Andy?"

"Uh...well if I had to guess, I'd say a science lab."

Jasper noted all the monitors on the walls and really scary looking equipment on counters. "I'm pretty sure I've seen horror movies with this kind of set up."

"We're screwed," Austin said. "We're so fucking screwed!"

"Austin chill. We're not dead yet. I'm sure if we put our brains together, we can figure something out."

"Put your brains together?" asked a woman's voice. The three boys lifted their heads as much as they could and saw a woman in black clothes and a white lab coat standing in the doorway. "What an interesting idea."

"Who are you?" Jasper asked while Andy stared wide-eyed. He hadn't realized that meeting the hero he'd created would also mean meeting the villain.

"I'm The Scientist."

"Of what?" Austin asked. "What type of scientist?"

"Oh...many things," she mused as she walked closer to them. "Biology, chemistry, microbiology, pathology, you get the picture."

"What do you want with us?" Jasper asked. Again, Andy found himself marveling at the fact he was at the mercy of his own villain. Granted he'd only just started understanding The Scientist himself, which made this all the more scarier. Clearly they'd been sent into the storyline of his current and unfinished book, but he didn't think that was good. He didn't even know how to defeat her yet.

"What," The Scientist demanded, looking at them like they were a brand new species. "You think I'll just give you a whole monologue about my schemes?"

"It's that usually what crazy ass bitches like your do in these situations?" Austin asked. Andy shook his head at the green ranger. Jasper noticed the immediate change in the demeanor of their captor. She stopped smiling and started glaring at them. She snarled and grabbed the closest thing to her, which happened to be a scalpel. Before any of them could say anything she swung her arm and stabbed Austin in the arm.

"Ah!" the green ranger seized against his restraints, as blood oozed out of the wound. "Fucking pyscho ass bitch!"

"Austin, shut up," Andy hissed.

"She fucking stabbed me!"

"Keep calling me that and I'll cut out the foul tongue," The Scientist snarled at Austin. Andy hoped he's stay quiet, but then remembered this was Austin he was talking about.

"You're bluffing."

"Austin shut it!" Jasper snapped. This woman looked like she would legitimately hurt him.

"Make me!"

"I'll make you!" she yelled. She reached behind her and grabbed something that looked like scissors. She set the scalpel down and reached out for Austin. He turned his head to the side. She grabbed his head and turned it up. She moved her hand down and forced Austin's mouth open.

"Leave him alone!" Andy told her.

"He's a crack-head, he doesn't know what he's saying!" The other two Rangers were thrashing around in their restraints. Austin glared at the scientist. He glanced quickly at Jasper and Andy, who were starting to cut their arms because of how much they were struggling.

"Wait!" The Scientist looked at Andy, having put the device in Austin's mouth. It was now open all the way and held open with the device; his tongue flopping out like a dead fish. "You-you don't want to do that!"

"Why not?" The Scientist asked.

"Because...because if you do...then it might effect the results of your experiments."

The Scientists considered, scaled hovering near Austin's mouth. He was staring at it with wide eyes. "I suppose you're right." She put the scalpel down again and looked down at Austin. "You're lucky your friend here is so smart." Austin nodded as she took the device out of his mouth. "Now, let's continue, shall we?"

The three boys glanced at each other. They hoped help was coming soon.

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn finished the wiring and stood back. The device she'd made was haphazard at best. It was shaped like a remote with a few buttons and a sensor. She brought it over to her monitors and started typing. She set the device to lock on to the teleportation path of the boys. "Leo?"

"Yeah Quinn?!" Leo ducked as a Darkling swung at her head. She shot it down and turned her attention back to Teleporto. "Chris and I are closing in on the demon-"

"No! You can't destroy him! Not yet."

"Why not?!" Chris demanded. She fried at Teleporto from her bike, then had to bank to the left quickly to avoid the blast coming back at her.

"I've been doing some research. I think that if you destroy the demon before the boys get back, they'll be trapped there forever!"

"Well that would be bad."

"Definitely," Leo agreed. "What do you want us to do?"

"I have an idea...but it's just..."

"What?!" Chris asked, narrowly voiding being teleported somewhere herself.

"I can't! It would require me leaving."

"Why not send Z then?" Leo suggested.

"I'd need time to teach him how to use the device and-"

"We definitely don't have that kind of time," Chris said. She and Leo fired close to the demon to keep his attention on them. "Quinn just go!"

"But-"

"No buts!"

"She's right," Leo agreed. "You need to go Quinn! We'll hold him off as long as we can! Get the boys and send them down when you get back."

"O-ok." Quinn smiled. "You can count on me girls!"

"I know we can. Now go!"

The device beeped. It had found the teleportation path of the boys. Quinn smiled as she picked it up. She hit a couple of buttons and set the coordinates. "Sorry Z. Looks like I have to break your rules after all." She hit the last button and teleported away just as Z came downstairs to check on her.

-Thunder Strike-

Asa knew he was in trouble. He couldn't stop mentally kicking himself for allowing three teens to be taken under his watch. First that pyscho last year, and now a new crazy had shown up. "I need to get to the Lab. I'll need some gear and of course-" He stopped short when a person quite literally fell out of the sky. Whoever it was on his car. He hit the breaks and saw a blur of black hair through the cracked windshield as the person rolled off his hood and into the thankfully deserted street. _This day isn't going well. _He got out quickly and ran over. "Are you ok?"

He helped the girl to her feet and she squinted at him. "Why are you all blurry?"

Asa noticed a pair of gold, metal glasses on the ground and picked them up. "Um...hold still." He put them on her and she smiled.

"Oh that's better." Asa regarded her with curiosity. She looked perfectly normal. Her black hair was in a pony tail, and she was wearing overalls with a white shirt underneath. He noticed her bare feet and wondered if she was homeless. And why she fell out of the sky.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Quinn."

"Mind explaining why you fell out of the sky?"

"Oh, I teleported here."

"Teleported?"

"Yeah! I'm looking for my friends. Andy, Jasper, and Austin."

"Andy, Jasper, and Austin? They're you're friends?"

"Yes! Have you seen them?"

"Um...yes. I'm afraid they've been kidnapped."

"Then we need to go rescue them!"

"We?! Oh no. You're not coming."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. They're my friends! I have people counting on me!"

"You could get hurt! And you're barefoot!"

"I'm coming with you whether you want me to or not."

"But-"

"Look, we can sit here or we can get moving. We need to save them. There's not much time."

Asa sighed. He was extremely hesitant to involve this girl, but he didn't see what other options he had. The was clearly something special about her and she had fallen out of the sky. "Fine. But if things get too dangerous-"

"I'll make sure to keep you safe." Now she started pushing buttons on her remote.

"What exactly is that?" Asa asked her.

"It's a teleportation device. I threw it together to come here and save my friends."

"You built this?!"

"Yes."

"Can it take us anywhere?"

"Um...I suppose. Why?"

Asa smiled. "Because I have an idea." He held out his hand for the device. "If I may?" Quinn looked at him for a moment before she handed it over. He took it and put in some coordinates. "We need to go here."

"Why?"

"Because...I think I know how we'll save your friends."

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper flinched as The Scientist finished drawing a vial of his blood. He didn't look af his arm until he felt the pain stop.

"There," she smiled. "All done."

"You're gonna let us go now, right?" Austin asked.

"Of course not."

"It was worth a shot."

"We need to find a way out of here," Jasper whispered to them.

"Now, for Phase 2!" The Scientist smiled.

"There's a phase two?" Austin asked.

"Of course there's a Phase Two!"

Andy rolled his eyes. After this he was half willing to delete all his novels. "What's Phase Two?"

"Phase Two is me putting these mind control devices," she held up a round object, about the size of a dime with wires hanging from it like a jellyfish, "in your heads to see if they work."

"Just when I thought this wasn't enough of a horror show already," Austin said. Andy decided he was definitely revising the story when he got back.

"Now, to put you boys to-" The Scientist stopped when she heard a bang. The three boys all lifted their heads and looked towards the door. They heard the sounds of fighting outside the room. There were shouts of pain and surprise and even gun shots. The Scientist moved towards Jasper, putting the scalpel on his throat. He put his head down in an effort to keep the blade away from his windpipe. Everything was quiet for a couple of minutes, and then there were several beeps and the door exploded.

Andy and Austin closed their eyes and turned their heads, Jasper closed his eyes, and The Scientist turned from the door and put her free arm up over her face. They all opened their eyes and a figure walked out of the smoke.

"Stop fiend!" the man yelled.

Andy broke into a smile. "Captain Ace!"

"Well I'll be damned," Austin whispered. He glanced at Andy, who was staring at Captain Ace like all his dreams had come true.

The hero was wearing a white suit, not like their ranger suits, this looked like it was made of a cloth type material. It had purple gauntlets and gloves, purple boots, a purple utility belt with more toys than batman, and a purple mask on his eyes that was tied behind his head. He had a arranged meant of stripes, black, grey, purple, and white, in a soft diamond shape on his chest and torso, with gaps a south to form a 'CA' in the middle. "Let these young boys go!"

"You take one more step and I'll slit his throat!" The Scientist snapped.

"We can reason this out like adults. But you need to release them."

"Not gonna happen!"

Captain Ace sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that." He glanced behind him a little bit. "Hey Kid!"

Andy frowned, then open his mouth in shock when a teenage girl came running in. "What-"

"Awesome," Austin smiled.

The girl was about their age and had black hair in ponytail. Her suit was identical to Captain Ace's, except she had a 'GA' on her chest. "Guys!"

"Who are you?!" The Scientist demanded.

"Girl Ace!" the girl said. "I'm his side-kick!"

"Side-kick!?" Andy demanded in shock.

"You didn't say Captain Ace had a side-kick," Austin said to Andy quietly.

"He doesn't."

"Both of you need to leave!" The Scientist yelled at the new arrivals. "You're ruining my experiments!"

"You're a criminal! And you need to be stopped!" Captain Ace said. He looked at Girl Ace and they nodded at each other. Captain Ace threw something at The Scientist.

"Ah!" She yells when it exploded against her. It electrocuted her and she stumbled away from the boys. She hit a button in the wall and alarms started going off. Captain Ace attacked her while Girl Ace went for the trapped boys.

"Need a hand?" she asked them.

"You sound very familiar," Austin said as she looked for a tool in her belt. She took one out and started picking the locks on his restraints. "Have we met before?"

Girl Ace smiled and lifted up her mask a little bit. "You can say that."

"Quinn?!" the three boys hissed. She nodded.

"Shhh." She moved her mask back and moved around Austin swiftly, continuing to free him. The green ranger watched her work with a smile. Figures Quinn would be the one to come and save them.

"Qu-Girl Ace, look out!" Jasper yelled. Quinn turned around and saw several very large men come into the room. They split up, three going for Quinn and the rest going for Captain Ace. They were at least twice her size. She smiled and finished freeing Austin.

"Here!" she yelled throwing him the tool. "Get them free! I'll handle these guys!"

"You got it!" Austin agreed. He got off the table and went immediately to Andy. He started unlocking his wrists while Quinn took on the toughs. Jasper and Andy watched as she took a stance, both thinking that it would be hard for her to beat them. Quinn attacked them quickly, moving with speed the Rangers were used to during sparring. But this was a little different this what they normally saw from her. She went straight for the weaker parts of their bodies, kicking them in the knees with all her strength. She ducked as one of them punched at her head and jumped up. She kicked the first one in the side, then turned quickly to a second one. She punched him in the stomach and he stumbled back in shock.

The third one grabbed her arm from behind, but that just made her smile. She jumped up and, using her trapped arm to pull herself up, kicked him in the face. He let go and she landed safely on her feet. She turned around just the first brute swung at her head. She caught his wrist with her hands and moved her head out of the way. She quickly bent his hand back and slipped behind him; pulling his arm back and up his back. He fell on his knees with a cry of pain and she spun around and kicked him in the head. She released his arm and he fell on the ground unconscious. She stepped over him and blocked a punch from the second one. The third one came at her from behind and she looked between them. She smiled and quickly punched one in the stomach; turned and kicked then other one in the chest.

They became enraged and charged at her. Quinn slipped between them and they needed up running into each other head first. They banged their heads together and both fell on the ground unconscious. She looked back at the boys. "You guys ok?"

"Yeah," Jasper nodded, rubbing his wrist.

"That was fucking awesome," Austin smiled. They all looked over at Captain Ace, who was trying to restrain The Scientist. She had somehow procured a knife and was trying to stab him with it. Andy watched with wide eyes as his hero flickered his eyes back and forth to follow her movements. She saw them and quickly threw the dagger at the teens.

"Look out!" Captain Ace shouted. The Rangers and Quinn scattered; throwing themselves on the ground. They got up and saw that The Scientist had gained another weapon.

"Where is she getting all of these?!" Austin demanded.

"You guys should morph," Quinn advised.

"Excellent idea," Andy nodded.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the four boys yelled. The Scientist stared at them in open mouth shock.

"More super heroes?!" she demanded. She smiled. "Looks like it's time for me to split. This ain't over Captain Ace." She grabbed something out of one of the pockets of her lab coat and threw it on the ground. It exploded in a puff of smoke and the teens ran towards her. When the smoke cleared though, she was gone.

"Damn," Austin sighed. "She's gone."

Captain Ace nodded. "She is. But she'll be back. I'm sure of it." He turned to face the teens. "Are you boys ok?"

"Yeah," Jasper said as they all nodded. "We're fine."

Captain Ace nodded, then looked at Quinn. "Thank you for your help Quinn."

"I was glad to help," Quinn replied, beaming. She hit a button concealed on the inside of her wrist with a couple of fingers. Her wrist glowed purple and the outfit disappeared off her body. She slipped a device that was purple and looked like a cuff of some kind. She handed it back to Captain Ace with a sad smile. "It was fun while it lasted."

"Fun?" he shook his head as he took the cuff from her. "You're really something."

"So says my Dad. Oh god he'd be furious if he knew what I'd just done."

"Well I'd hope on some level that he'd be proud to have such a brave and resourceful daughter."

"Thanks."

Captain Ace sighed. "I suppose now, the challenge is getting you kids home."

"Oh we got that covered," Quinn smiled, waving her device. They left the room, heading into a hallway through the destroyed doorway. "I'll need to keep an eye on this place. And let Rick know about all this."

"Rick?" Jasper asked.

"My friend. He's a detective on the police force."

"Ah."

Andy smiled. He'd forgotten all about Asa's childhood friend and aromate, Rick. Part of him wished that he could've met him, another part was unbelievably glad to be going home. Once they were outside, which turned out to be in the middle of a run down part of the city, the guys summoned day their bikes.

"Storm chasers," the yelled. "online!"

Asa's eyes widened when the bikes teleported to them. "Wow. You kids are full of surprises."

"We try," Austin said getting on his. He was done with this crazy fictional world. It was time to get back to reality.

"Thank you for your help," Jasper said to Asa, shaking his hand.

"It's what I do."

Jasper and Andy got on their bikes while Quinn finished sending them the coordinates home. She smiled at Asa when they were done. "Bye."

"Good-bye Quinn," he smiled. He shook her hand. "Fighting with you today was a grand adventure."

"Hopefully you have more to come."

"You as well."

Quinn frowned. "I wouldn't count on it." She went over to Jasper, and got on behind him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her bare feet against the back of his boots. "Come on boys, let's go home."

Andy took one last look at Asa. It was unbelievable to him that his character existed here. "Bye Asa."

"Good-bye," Asa replied, waving. "Be safe."

"We try," Austin said. The boys powered up their bikes and drive forward; teleporting away a few seconds later.

-Thunder Strike-

To say that Z was worried as a vast understatement. He was petrified. Not only was Quinn gone, but he and no idea where she was. She could've been on the moon for all he knew. He really hoped she wasn't. As if answering his prayers, Jasper, Austin, and Andy suddenly teleported into the basement; braking in just the right place with practiced ease. Quinn jumped off the back of Jasper's bike.

"Go! Leo and Chris are waiting for you guys!" she yelled to them. She ignored her uncle, who was glaring at her, and went straight to her computers.

"Quinn-" Z began but she cut him off.

"Lecture me later. I need to focus on helping the Rangers right now."

Z sighed but reluctantly nodded. As furious as he was with his niece, he knew she was right. The most important thing right now was saving the world. And that she was safe. The fight he knew would inevitably come later.

-Thunder Strike-

Meanwhile, Leo and Chris drove in zig-zags around Teleporto. He was desperately trying to hit the girls with their own blasts, but they were figuring out his name. All of a sudden, three more bursts of light appeared and the boys raced out of them. They all shot at Teleporto, whose back was turned to them. They hit him and he fell on the ground.

"About time you guys got here," Chris said as they joined the boys.

"Is Quinn ok?" Leo asked them.

"She's not dead, which is good," Jasper said.

"And she's even more of a badass than she was before," Austin added.

Teleporto got to his feet. "How did you Rangers escape?!"

"You underestimate our team!" Andy yelled. "And how unbelievably awesome our tech girl is!"

"Let's finish this guy off," Chris suggested. "I'm getting real sick of his attitude."

"Great idea," Leo agreed. They took one of the tags off their necks.

"Storm chasers, attack mode!" they yelled, slipping the silver tags into their bikes. They drove around Teleporto and spread out in a circle.

"Hawk chaser, power up!" Leo shouted.

"Tiger chaser, power up!" Chris yelled.

"Bobcat chaser, power up!" Austin exclaimed.

"Fox chaser, power up!" Andy yelled.

"Falcon chaser, power up!" Jasper shouted.

The eyes on the front of their chasers tsar tee glowing with their ranger colors. They all fired and drive after their shots. The shots all hit Teleporto in their pairs; red, blue, green, white, and black. They all stopped and spun around facing Teleporto as he exploded.

"You guys are getting good at this," Quinn said to them.

"Think he's coming back?" Andy asked. His question was answered when a quant funnel cloud appeared in the center of the circle of rangers.

"Yes," Austin replied.

"Thunder zords, activate!"

"Thunder hawk zord, powered up!"

"Thunder tiger zord, powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat zord, powered up!"

"Thunder fox zord, powered up!"

"Thunder falcon zord, powered up!"

"Thunder Strike Megazord!"

Teleporto clapped his hands together, then disappeared. He reappeared behind them. He hit the megazord and it stumbled forward. The Megazord spun around, only for him to disappear again as it reached its arms out. He reappeared on the side this time; hitting the fighting machine again.

"Let's get on with the power up," Leo said. The others nodded, regaining their senses from being knocked around. They took our their new tags and put them in the slot on their controllers.

"Storm chasers," they yelled. "online!"

"Storm Chaser Megazord!" the five of them yelled. They swung the spear at Teleporto, only to have him teleport out of its way.

"Haha! You still can't catch me Rangers!" the demon laughed. He kept teleporting round the megazord; hitting it every time he reappeared. The Rangers did their best to maintain control of their zord, but they weren't able to land a solid hit. The Megazord stumbled as it almost ,a aged to scratch him.

"We seriously need to pin him down or something," Austin said.

"I have an idea," Jasper said suddenly. They were all thrown forward, all of them feeling at least a couple of ribs crack from the force of being thrown into their front panels.

"What is it?" Leo asked. She was welcoming any ideas at this point.

"Our storm chasers are able to teleport, right?"

"So?"

"I lIke where this is going," Quinn said in their helmets. "Jasper thinks you guys can get the Megazord to teleport."

"Is that possible?" Chris asked.

"For the amount of power you'd need...dangerous. You only have enough power to do it once."

"Then let's make it count!" Chris suggested.

"Ok, follow my instructions exactly."

Teleporto meanwhile was enjoying the fact that the Rangers weren't able to keep up with him. He teleported behind them and was about to hit them when the I tore Megazord disappeared! He looked around. "What- ah!" The Megazord reappeared behind him and knocked him to the ground.

"We got him!" Austin cheered.

"You guys need to be careful," Quinn warned them. "If you overload the fuel cells the zords might explode."

"That would be bad," Jasper agreed as the Megazord stabbed the spear at Teleporto before he could recover. The wheels on the spear spun around at impossible speeds. He got to his feet, only, to be throw back by the Megazord swinging the spear at him. He was hit in the chest and took off the side of a building with his fall.

"Let's finish him!" Leo ordered. They flipped the third switches and pushed a button.

"Storm Chaser Final Strike!" the five Rangers yelled. The Megazord raced forward and went through Teleporto with its spear. He tried to teleport out of the way but didn't quite make it. He exploded and the Rangers all cheered.

"The storm has passed!" Leo agreed.

-Thunder Strike-

Later on, Leo was playing her violin. She played a few measures, then made a note on the music. She wrote a couple of notes on the staff and put her pencil down. She picked her instrument up again and started playing from the beginning of her piece. She had working on it for four months. Writing music took a while for her, since she wanted every note and chord to matter. She stopped suddenly, her bow screeching against the strings in surprise, when she heard the yelling. She frowned as she went over to her door and opened it. She saw Chris do the same from her door down the hall. The two girls heard shouting coming from the library.

"Is that Quinn?" Chris wondered. She looked at Leo for conformation, thinking the red ranger had a better listening place. She saw Leo shift on her feet and sighed. She went down the hall and put her hands on Leo's shoulders. She steered her back into her bedroom, making sure to shut the door behind them. A second later it opened again and Andy came in.

"Hey, why are Quinn and Z-" he stopped short when he saw Leo. "What's wrong with her?"

"Leo's not the confrontational type," Chris reminded him. Andy nodded. Leo was so much more sure of herself when she was the red ranger, they tended to forget she wasn't like that all the time. Leo played with the tuning knobs on her violin, despite the fact it was already in tune. Austin came in next.

"Yo, Z and Q are going at it in there. I could hear them over my music."

"Me too," Chris said. She had been dancing in her room when she'd heard the fight.

"Wonder what what they're fighting about," Andy mused.

"It probably has something to do with Quinn coming to save us earlier," Austin suggested.

"What does?" Jasper asked as he entered.

"The fight."

"Oh yeah. I'd bet money it's that."

"What money?"

"Alright you two," Chris warned them. "Knock it off."

"Maybe I should've have told Quinn to go," Leo said so quietly they almost didn't hear her.

"No, you made the right choice."

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "We would've been gonners without Quinn."

"But if it's causing them to fight-" Leo argued, putting her violin down on her bed.

"We all know why they're fighting and it has little to do with her busting out today," Austin said. "But it does have everything to do with Z keeping her locked up in here."

"Quinn's got every right to be angry with Z," Jasper agreed. "I mean I get that Quinn's dad and Z are worried about her safety, but we all know this is crazy."

They heard the library door bang open and running footsteps. A second later another door slammed shut. They all stayed quiet for a minute and Leo went over to the door. She opened it and looked out. She saw Z come out of the library and approach Quinn's door. He raised his hand to knock on her door, then hesitated. He stood there for a minute before sighing. He turned away, and headed towards the stairs. Leo ventured out of her room and knocked on Quinn's door.

"Quinn?" she asked quietly. "Quinn? Are you ok?" She waited, but didn't get a response. She opens the door slowly. "Quinn?" She saw the bay windows open on the far side of the room. Her friend was kneeling on the balcony, arms draped up on the railing; crying. Leo entered the room, shutting the door behind her. She approached her distraught friend slowly. She grabbed the gold blanket off Quinn's bed. She dropped it over her friend's shoulders. "Don't catch a cold."

Leo knelt beside Quinn, putting an arm around her shoulders. Quinn leaned into her, burying her face in The red ranger's shirt. Leo hugged her tight; not caring about the tears that soaked her shirt. Nether of them said anything for a few minutes. Eventually, Quinn calmed down a little bit. The red ranger played with a stray strand of black hair.

"This place is a prison," Quinn murmured.

"...it's a nice prison," Leo countered, not even trying to argue the point.

"It's still a prison." Quinn buried her face in Leo's chest again. "I hate it here."

"I know you do. But try to look on the bright side-"

"What bright side?!"

"...it's a nice prison."

Quinn huffed, sitting up and wiping her eyes. Sure, it was nice. She lived in a mansion; never had to worry about anything; owned so many nice things and state of the art technology. But a gilded cage was still a cage. "If only it had an exit," she mentioned. She sighed and leaned into Leo. Her friend wrapped her arms around her. Quinn curled up and cried. Leo stayed quiet and held her.

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time on Power Rangers Thunder Strike: the ranger get the day off from duty and want to spend it outside the house with Quinn. If only they could convince Z to let her leave.


	29. Episode 10: Fun For All pt1 ch1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode X: Fun For All pt1

Chapter One: A Devious Plot

A/N: Hey readers! I'm so sorry about the uh...hiatus. I was unbelievably busy with school and being a senior. But things are back a slower pace now, so I'll be back to updating. And yesterday my marching band got gold at our finals and I was accepted into my school's National Honors Society! So good news all around!

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." -Mark Twain

In the Emperor Stormicon's cloud palace, the dark grey cumulonimbus that made up his fortress were converging together and twisting. Inside the throne room, the emperor was thinking deeply. His eyes practically goose as he looked at his staff.

"Sire." Stormicon sat up and gazed down at Tornidon. "I have just been down to the Demon Room."

"And?"

"We have acquired a demon that I think could be very useful to use."

"A demon isn't enough," Hurricous argued. "Sire, we need a plan. A good one."

Stormicon nodded. "Yes. And we shall." He gazed at the fluffy, dark-grey cloud at the top of his staff. he started chanting a spell in the language of his species. The generals moved closer to each other on instinct. Stormicon's eyes glowed as did a dark light within the cloud. Everyone in the room could feel the chaotic energy bring gathered. Stormicon finished his chanting and held out his hand. Dark grey energy swirled out of the top of the staff and into his hand. It's assure,d around above his palm in a small storm. The lines of the grey light moved together as they swirled around, condensing into a small form. Once the form was formed, the light glowed bright and turned gold. Stormicon nodded as the light died and he was left holding a dark gold stone. "Tornidon."

"Yes Sire?"

"What does this new demon do?"

Tornidon smiled. "His name is Dopplegan. He can trap the Rangers and steal their powers."

"Excellent. Have him do just that. Whatever he does it, make sure the Rangers find this." He the the stone to Blizzitor, who caught it in his hand. He studied it.

"Emperor," the ice demon said, "what does this do?"

"For now nothing, but soon it will be how we defeat the Rangers. For now just get that demon down there and get those Rangers!"

"Yes Sire!" the three demons replied, all bowing.

-Thunder Strike-

It was relatively quiet in the library as the Rangers did their school work for the day. Leo, Quinn, and Chris sat together; Quinn working on Physics, Leo on History, and Chris on English. Austin nodded his along to the beat of his music as he made his way through a math problem. Andy glanced at his paper and saw that the green ranger was three problems ahead of him. Since they were in the same level math class, they were working out of the same book. He looked across the table at Jasper's paper, despite the fact the black ranger had a trig book because he was more advanced than his friends.

Z came unit the library to check on them and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were all working quietly. They'd figured out by now how to effectively learn when it was just the six of them. He glanced at Quinn and smiled fondly, remembering the struggle of getting her to sit still for a few hours to do work. Things had been quiet for the past week. Not even a squad of Darklings had been sent down to terrorize the city. And he could tell by looking at the Rangers that they were getting anxious over this hiatus.

Most people would've taken a break in fighting as a blessing. But no one in the manor was fooled. To them, quiet demons were conspiring demons. The only reason they could possibly be this quiet was if they were planning something. The tension showed on their faces and in their postures. Leo looked distracted, tapping out a beat with her pencil as she stared at the same page in her book; not comprehending what she was reading. Chris was sitting just as stiffly, chewing her bottom lip. Quinn looked like a zombie. The dark circles under her eyes told Z all he needed to know about how much sleep she had been getting. No doubt working on a project. The boys were all wound so tight they looked like they were going to kill each other. Andy accidentally nudged Austin's elbow as he moved his paper and the green ranger gave him the look of death.

"Dude!" he snapped. "You just made me mess up on the freaking problem! It's taken me like a fucking hour to do!"

"It was an accident, Austin!" Andy snapped.

"Oh yeah I'm sure it was!"

"What're you implying?!"

"Nothing! I'm stating the facts!"

"You're being stupid!"

"You wanna go?!"

"Knock it off!" Chris snapped. "Some of us are trying to study!"

"Well you yelling isn't going to make it quieter!" Jasper snapped back.

"Guys," Leo said, her voice going unheard.

"I'm trying to stop those two from pounding on each other!" Chris yelled at Jasper.

"And you don't think I'm capable of doing that?!" Jasper demanded.

"Guys," Leo said again, a little more conviction in he voice.

"Apologize for messing me up!" Austin yelled at Andy. The white ranger glared at him, standing his ground.

"Make me!" he retorted.

"I'll make you-"

"Guys!" Leo yelled. Everyone turned to look at her. It was incredibly uncharacteristic for Leo to raise her voice, even if it was to stop fighting.

Z sighed. They needed to relax. "Rangers."

Everyone but Quinn looked up at him. "Yeah Z?"

"Since things have been so quiet lately, I thought maybe you'd enjoy some time away from the house. So, you can leave for the day until dinner."

"Really?!" Andy asked in excitement.

"For real?!" Austin demanded. The white and green Rangers high-fived. Leo and Chris smiled at each other. The five Rangers all gathered their things, quickly putting their school supplies away. They put the books all back and hurried out of the library. They were talking excitedly, half arguing with each other about what they should do. Z smiled as he watched them go. (They've been working so hard lately, they really do deserve some time off.) He looks back at Quinn, smile falling. She hadn't even looked up from her work the whole time. He waited for her to ask the dreaded question. She put her pencil down a drubbed her eyes. Z frowned.

"How much have you been sleeping?" he asked as he walked closer to her.

"Enough," Quinn answered.

"How much exactly is enough?"

Quinn sighed. She ran her fingers through the top of her hair. "I don't know...three...maybe four hours."

"Three or four?! Quinn you need to take better care of yourself! It's not safe for you to-"

"I know what I'm doing!" Quinn slammed her textbook shut. "There's only so many things I can do in this prison, so I'm trying to make as much use of it that I can." She got up and brushed past him. Z stood motionless as she left the library. He heard the door slam shut behind her and sighed. He pulled out his phone and called the only other person he'd had contact with for the past fifteen years. He waited and waited and waited as it rang. He groaned when he got voicemail. _Great, just great. _He heard the beep and cleared his throat.

"Hey bro, it's me. Listen, you need to talk to Quinn. Remember her, your daughter? She's going through a rough time, I believe it's called a rebellious faze, or as rebellious as she can get. Just...call me back, ok? She needs you." He hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket. _What am I going to do with her? _he wondered as he left the library. He wandered downstairs to the living room. He saw the Rangers had gathered there.

"We definitely need to go to the movies," Austin insisted.

"We spend 90% of our lives inside these days," Jasper argued. "I'm not spending today in a dark theater."

"There's a fair in town this weekend," Andy said. "It's a small one, not like the Solstice Fair Day but still, looks like it could be fun."

"What's a fair?" Quinn asked, bouncing in.

"It's..." Jasper paused. He didn't know how to explain it. He'd never really been to one because his family couldn't really afford it.

"It's a big gathering," Austin explained. "There's rides, food, games, ponies."

"Rides?!" Quinn smiled. "What're those?!"

"They're these things that you ride. They go really fast and high and do loops and stuff. Some even flip you upside down."

"That sounds like so much fun!"

"Oh it is."

"And what kind of food is there?"

"Fair food," Andy answered, shrugging. "Hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, Italian sausages, deep fried Oreos, funnel cake, friend dough, cotton candy, candied apples..."

Quinn's eyes sparkled with delight. "That sounds amazing!" Andy caught Z's eye and their mentor shook his head behind Quinn's back. The last thing he needed was them putting ideas in her head. It was time he had a talk with them. Leo and Chris came in just as Quinn was about to ask another question, for which Z was thankful.

"Have you guys managed to think of something we can do?" Chris asked.

"Yup!" Andy answered happily. "We're going to a fair!"

"But it's not June."

"It's not the Solstice Fair Day," Jasper explained. "It's some smaller one that's just passing through."

"Ah. Well in that case lets do it!"

Leo smiled. She'd never been to a fair before, but this sounded like it could be fun. She caught Quinn's eye, then frowned. They'd all been so excited about leaving that they'd forgotten Quinn couldn't come with them. Her friend seemed to read her mind, as Quinn had a habit of doing, and shrugged sadly.

"You guys have fun," Quinn told them.

"Why don't you come with us?" Austin asked.

"No," Z said.

"Come on Z, we'll take good care of her," Andy promised. "Let her come with us."

"No."

"But-" Chris began but Quinn shook her head.

"It's ok, honest. You go have fun," she told them.

"Are you sure?" Leo asked. It wasn't like Quinn to dismiss the opportunity to leave. She was usually chomping at the bit.

"I'm sure. I've got...lots of stuff I need to work on anyways."

The Rangers all nodded collectively. They all would've kept coming to her defense had she wanted to, but if she didn't want to go they supposed there was nothing they could do. Leo smiled at Quinn. "We'll bring you back a souvenir."

Quinn brightened up at the comment. "You'd better!"

The Rangers set the coordinates in their morphers and teleported out of the house. Quinn stared at the place where they'd just disappeared for a second before wandering into the hall. She walked slowly into the front foyer, standing still for a minute. These house felt empty. Every sound she made seemed to echo off the walls. It was usually so full with the Rangers that she'd nearly forgotten what it was like to be on of two people living in it. She sighed and headed for the basement, hoping her projects could fill their usual role of filling the void of emptiness and loneliness inside of her.

-Thunder Strike-

Once the Rangers were in the city, they teleported into an alley. Leo looked out and saw that one one was watching the entrance. "Coast's clear."

"I can't wait!" Austin cheered as they walked. "We finally got to leave! And it wasn't to fight demons!"

"Shh!" Chris scolded. "Just tell the whole city our secret identities why don't you!"

Austin stuck his tongue out at her. "Well excuse me for being fucking excited. We haven't left the house in weeks unless it was for a battle."

"Still more than Quinn," Jasper reminded him.

"Yeah well, that's because I don't have a crazy dad."

"If Quinn could leave, do you think she would've built a morpher for herself?" Leo asked suddenly from the top of the group. Despite the fact everyone else was walking behind her she could feel them giving her strange looks.

"What'd you mean?" Andy asked.

"I mean do you think Quinn would've become a ranger if she'd been allowed? It honestly seemed like a straight forward question."

"Probably," Chris replied. "I mean, she seems to be really invested in helping us succeed."

"Well, she and Z were the only people who knew Stormicon and his bitches were coming," Austin pointed out. "If this goes south it'll be on them. I'd find that pretty motivating."

"It's make than that though," Jasper said. "Quinn wants to be a ranger. You can tell."

"I bet she'd be a great one cause her dad was," Andy said. "The apple never falls far from the tree."

"By the way, does anyone knowing where we're going?" Leo asked. "Because the person in the front and never been to a fair before."

"You've never been..." Austin sighed. "Never mind, I don't want to know. You know sometimes I think you're more sheltered than Quinn."

"Quinn's not sheltered, she's isolated," Andy told him. "There's a difference."

"I still don't know where we're going," Leo warned them. Austin grinned as he made his way up thought the group to walk beside her.

"Don't worry," the green ranger smiled, putting his arm on her shoulders. Leo quickly shoved them off and stepped away. "I know exactly where we're going."

"Oh joy," Chris sighed. "We're letting the delinquent give us directions."

"Hey! I may be a delinquent, but I know where I'm going!" The blue ranger rolled her eyes while Jasper and Andy laughed. No one even thought about going off alone, despite the fact that there were things they all could've done by themselves. None of them wanted to admit that they no longer felt safe walking around the streets of their home. At least, not without knowing that their teammates were nearby.

-Thunder Strike-

Leo's eyes got wide when they reached the fair entrance. She smiled a little once they were inside at all the commotion and people. "Wow."

"Let's go!" Andy cheered. "We should go on some rides!"

"Actually we should play some games," Chris said.

"How about that?" Leo asked, pointing to a large tent structure.

"A house of mirrors?" Austin asked, frowning. "Why?"

"Well it looks like fun."

"How about we walk around a little bit first?" Jasper suggested. "The figure out what we want to do."

"Fine," Andy sighed. Everyone nodded and they started walking.

-Thunder Strike-

Tornidon laighed as he watched the Rangers done below. "It's perfect, they won't be expecting us!"

Blizzitor nodded. "Indeed." He looked at the small gem in his hand. He closed his icy fingers around it and smiled. "Hurricous, go summon Dopplegan."

"With pleasure," the hurricane demon smiled as he left his comrades and headed for the demon room.

Blizzitor squeezed the Sun Stone again. "Let's get rid of those Rangers once and for all."


	30. Episode 10: Fun For All pt1 ch2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode X: Fun For All pt1

Chapter Two: Its a Trap

A/N: I finally, finally got a new chapter written! Woo!

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." -Mark Twain

Leo was finding the fair to be indelibly interesting. As they wandered around, she got distracted by the farm animals. The others laughed as she wandered away from them and right up to a horse. She smiled as she reached her hand out and stroked it's nose.

"How come when I do that they try to bite me?!" Austin demanded. He approached a different one, a pretty white mare with brown spots, and held his hand out to her. Andy didn't think it was possible, but the horse appeared to be giving Austin the stink eye. The horse snapped at his hand, which, thanks to his ranger reflexes, he jerked back before she could take off or crush any of his fingers. "See!" He glared at the horse. "Bitch." Andy was doubled-over laughing.

"Maybe because Leo is Leo," Jasper suggested. "And you're you."

"Meaning?" Austin asked, still glaring at the horse who was glaring back.

"Well she's an angel and about as sweet as Snow White. Meanwhile you're...the devil incarnate."

"Haha, very funny. Hey!" The horse had latched on to the back of his hood and was pulling him backwards. He wiggled out of his hoodie and grabbed it. "Give it back you stupid animal!" He heard Andy short he was laughing so much. Leo looked over at him, one hand still resting on the nose of the dark brown mustang she was petting. The horse looked over too, both of them staring at the feat of of the green ranger swearing at a horse as he pulled at his sweater.

Chris shook her head in disgust. "Seriously? He's such a loser."

"Yeah," Andy agreed. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He sides hurt from laughing.

"I heard that!" Austin snapped.

"Well anyone who just decides they'll pick a fight with a horse."

"Well-" he stopped when they heard screams. The Rangers all looked at each other and Austin sighed, letting go of his seater. "You got lucky this time Horse!" The horse watched him go as he ran after the other rangers. They ran through the fair, following the sounds of chaos and fear. They found Darklings attacking people.

"Guess evil doesn't take a day off," Jasper muttered. He grabbed Austin and Andy's arms, pulling them behind a tent. Leo and Chris ducked behind another one right next to it. They held up their wrists with their morphers on them.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

They jumped out from their hiding places, and immediately split up to cover more ground. Leo grabbed the arms of two people and pulled them away from the Darklings. She let go and jumped up. She kicked the two demons in their chests and they dissipated. She took out her blaster and started shooting, nailing the closest Darklings in the head. She saw more people getting cornered and ran to their aid. She shot the demons when she was close enough, not wanting to have a civilian get caught in the cross-fire. She spun and kicked a third through the neck. She landed facing away from the civilians and took the brunt of an attack as some Darklings blasted random things at her with air. Austin saw this and ran to help her.

He grabbed the people by their arms and pulled them back. "Go!" he yelled. "Run!" He was blown off his feet and into the roof of a tent. He didn't fall through because of the extremely thick fabric, he simply rolled until he stopped in a valley. He quickly threw himself to the side as the Darklings blasted sharp objects towards him. "Is that all you losers can do is blow?!" He laughed, but he quickly stopped laughing as the Darklings ran at the tent and mules in the air. They flew towards him as if they were being carried by a large gust of wind. The green ranger stopped laughing as they blasted him again. He flew backwards, head over heels, landing on a picnic table in a dining area. He replied off, moaning in pain. "Ok, ok, not a good idea to taunt the foot soldiers." He rolled to the aide as the Darklings landed and simultaneously made picnic tables fly up and come crashing down near him. Austin gritted his teeth and crawled out from under the pile.

Meanwhile, Jasper was discovering there was something different about the Darklings. He smacked one through the head with one of his cloud maces and it dissipated. He pulled the civilians to their feet and pushed them away. "Run! Get out of here!" he yelled. He was thrown forward by a blast of wind, trying to scramble to his feet. He managed it once he was out of the vortex that had trapped him, grabbing his maces from where they'd landed next to him. He threw one at the demons as he sprinted at the Darklings. The mace hit one of the demons and boomeranged back to Jasper. He caught it and swung the other one at the remaining two, destroying them. The Darklings suddenly took to the air, floating above the black ranger. He found it only slightly terrifying the way their soul-less faces stared down at him in a semi-circle. Jasper backed up quickly, but not quickly enough. The Darklings brought their hands up by their chests, hands curled in like claws, palms facing down at an angle. The black ranger could practically see the wind building up. They suddenly forced their hands down, send a large gust of pressurized air at Jasper. He jumped up to try and get some air himself to avoid being squashed.

The air rushed under him, volleying him up into the air, and sending him flying into a tent. He was going so fast that he ripped through the fabric and crashed into the craft stands beneath. He moaned when he broke a table full of knitted hats and scarves. He moaned as he sat up slowly. _Where-_ He spotted his cloud maces a few yards away, buried into a different table of colorful doilies and socks. He got painfully to his feet and grabbed the handles of his weapons and pulled them out of the wood. He frowned as he pulled baby blue socks that looked like they were made for an infant, off of one. He heard more screams and ran back out in the fray, muscles and injuries screaming in protest.

Chris meanwhile was dodging left and right, trying to avoid the objects that were being brutally thrown at her. She whipped one of her wind fans up at the Darklings. She summersaulted to the right, catching her weapon as it came back to her. The Darklings gathered more strength and before she could react, a gust of pressurized air was sent at Chris. She was knocked backwards, her ears popping like she was changing altitudes swiftly. The force of it made her grit he teeth in pain as weight pushed down on her body from all sides. The Darklings chuckled as they raised their arms, bring them out in front of them, lifting the blue ranger in the pressurized pocket. Chris could feel her head starting to throb and hear her pulse in her temples. Every nerve and muscle in her body screamed for her to move. _Fight or flight!_ they seemed to say. She tried, but she couldn't move. The pain was increasing with the pressure, and Chris wasn't sure how much more her body could handle.

Andy saw her and started spinning his snow scrappers. He three them both, aiming for the Darklings trapping Chris. His weapons hit the two demons in the back of their heads. They disintegrated and the pressurized pocket of air around the blue ranger disappeared. She started ripping to the ground like a rock and Andy panicked as he caught his weapons._ I clearly didn't think through! I clearly didn't think this through! _Luckily, Chris wasn't panicking. She managed to regain her senses, now that he body wasn't under extreme pressure, and flipped herself around. She landed on her feet, letting her body crumple to the ground with the momentum and forcing herself into a roll as soon as she was on the ground. She landed hard, but alive and with all of her bones intact. Andy smiled and he was knocked forward. He summersaulted and spun around, throwing his weapons again. They hit the Darklings and they desintegrated. Andy smiled as he got back to his feet and his weapons came back to him.

"You guys are still pretty pathetic," the white ranger said. "Even with your freaky new powers."

"Freaky huh?" a voice asked. Andy turned around and blinked. He raised his weapons in front of himself when he saw the demon. He had skin that was so pale it was almost translucent. His body shape and build were humanoid in nature and his eyes were clear, showing off an interior filled with a strange, dark grey light. Andy didn't knew what is was, but it gave him the creeps just looking at it. "Then perhaps I should give them a little bit of yours."

"What-" Before Andy could react, the demon stuck his hands out and they glowed with the same dark light. It raced towards the ranger at the speed of, well light, and hit him in the chest. Andy stumbled back and felt...strange. Unnatural. He had the sudden urge to kill the person closeted too him; to hear the screams of terror and pain. The demon pulled his arms back, retracing the light. Andy stumbled forward with it a little bit as it left his body. He took a deep breath and gulped. The feelings were gone as quickly as they'd come. He looked up and his mouth dropped open in shock.

The light now had a white glow to it, and the demon raised his hands to the sky. He summoned down the funnel clouds that carried Darklings, passing through the light. When they landed, the light died and Andy had to take a step back in surprise. The Darklings looked exactly the same, except for their normally red eyes. They were a glowing white. The Darklings attacked Andy, who raised his snow scrapers. The darklongs shot their hands out; pelting the white ranger with shards of ice. Andy moved as fast as he could, but he cousins move fast enough. They hit him and he stumbled back in pain. He slashed at the Darklings almost blindly, tyring to keep them away. They put their hands out again, blasting snow at Andy.

"Ah! Cold! Cold! Very cold!" Andy shouted, feeling a deep chill running through his body from the snow and ice that was hitting him.

"Andy!" Austin yelled. He sprinted towards the white ranger, who was now on the ground in pain. He headed straight for the demon, swinging his hammers. This was exactly what the demon wanted though. He nodded and raised his hands. He shot the dark grey light at Austin, and it hit him in the chest. He stopped in his tracks, suddenly filled with a blood lust. He wanted to destroy everything and everyone. The light was pulled out and he felt very confused. _What the actual f- _His thought stopped when he saw the grey light was now glowing with green. The demon summoned Darklings through the green light and Andy shook his head.

"Oh shit," Andy whispered.

"What's-"'The Darklings landed and ran at Austin. They lifted their arms and lighting suddenly descended from nowhere and struck him, sending him flying forwards. He hit the ground and cringed and flinched. They zapped him a again and it took all of his strength and concentration to avoid being de-morphed. "What the actual fuck!" He growled at the demons, picking himself up off the ground. He grabbed his hammers on the way up and threw them with all his strength. He took them out, but then the dark clouds reformed back into demons. "Really?! Fucking really?!"

"They're not supposed to be doing this!" Andy shouted, backing up and simultaneously moving closer to Austin. Chris saw the commotion, but knew that charging in head first like Austin had done would get her nowhere.

"Leo!" she shouted. The red ranger looked at her as Jasper joined the group again.

"Jasper, go help Austin and Andy," Leo instructed. She snapped her rain stick on her leg. "Chris and I will handle the demon."

"You've got it!" Jasper nodded. He ran to his friends while the red and blue Rangers attacked the demon. Jasper swung his maces through the heads of several Darklings, blinking in surprise when they re-formed. "That's new! Whoa!" He ducked and bent backwards, trying to avoid being hit with ice and lightning. It didn't work out as well as he'd hoped though because he was being pelted and hit, seemingly without end. He swung his maces, trying to knock the projectiles away, but it wasn't very effect. Nether were Leo and Chris's attacks against the demon. They were trying to alternate their attacks, Leo going first and Chris following. The red ranger swung both her rain sticks in opposite directions, but the demon put his hands up and something solid stopped her attacks. Leo frowned in confusion, staring at the empty space that was keeping her from reaching him.

The demon chuckled and thrust his hands forward, slamming the solid wall into Leo. The red ranger flew back, but Chris immediately stepped up to take her place. She spun around and tried to hit the demon with her fans. Once again he stopped her with an invisible shield. The blue ranger wasn't deterred though, and leapt up and over him, throwing her fans down at him while in the air. She caught them again as she landed, but she didn't even scratch him. She growled in frustration.

"How do we land a hit on him- Leo look out!"

The demon had raised his hands, and before the red ranger could move, he shot the dark grey light at her. Leo was hit in the chest and fell to her knees from the severity of emotions. Her heart pounded with anxiety as horrible thoughts filled her mind. She wanted to do things...horrible, sinful things. The light left her body, pulling with it red hue. She took a deep breath, still rattled by the experience she'd just had. The demon laughed at her. "Not so brave now, are you Red Ranger?"

"Leo!" Chris yelled. She was starting to get surrounded by Darklings. "Leo!"

Leo looked up and threw herself to her feet. She ignored the feeling of dread in her stomach. They had a job to do. She held her hands out behind her a bit and her rain sticks returned to her. She was facing a wall of Darklings, but she gripped her weapons with certainty. She swung them at the demons, moving between them fluidly. They raised their hands collectively and started pelting her with rain. She tried to knock the drops away, but that wasn't nearly as effective as she'd hoped it would be. Chris swiped at the demons, throwing and catching her wind fans with ease as she tried to take them down. She kept taking wrong steps though due to the ice that they were throwing at her. Every gold ball sized piece was like being punched. She didn't even notice a small break in the wall of demons surrounding until right before the grey light hit her. She froze in shock.

Dark desires of chaos suddenly became all she could think about. The light was retracted and it took her a minute to try and process what had just happened. She saw the new Darklings with their glowing blue eyes advancing on her. She took her stance, ready to fight them. Before she could attack them though, they knocked her off her feet in a gust of wind. It blew her backwards, and into Jasper who was still going at it with his cloud maces. The two Rangers fell in a tangle of weapons and appendages.

"You ok?" Jasper asked Chris, pulling her to her feet.

"Yeah I'm fine."

Jasper was about to reply when he saw the grey light coming at them. "Look out!" He grabbed Chris by her shoulders and threw her onto the ground. The light hit him and the black ranger put a hand to his chest like her was in pain. He was filled with the most unnatural feeling of something inside of him. A second later it was gone and he shivered. Chris scrambled to her feet.

"What was that- whoa!" Jasper and Chris were faced with Darklings with blue and black eyes. The black-eyed ones each thrust one of theirs forward, like they were throwing something. That something manifested as soon as their arms finished the motion and the two Rangers had to scam role to avoid it. The dark clouds seemed to grow bigger as they reached them. Jasper managed to avoid the first one, but the second and third ones hit him like a ton of bricks. They were surprisingly solid and caused his suit to spark for some reason. He winced and cried out in pain as the Darkkongs started to overwhelm him. He wasn't the only one.

Leo looked around and saw that everyone was being overwhelmed. She knew she needed to do something. "Quinn?" she said, pressing the communication button on her morpher. "Quinn! Quinn?!" She sighed when there was no reply. _Looks like I'm on my own._ "Regroup!" Leo ordered. "Regroup!"

"Fucking fantastic idea!" Austin replied, he turned and ran straight for the red ranger. Andy joined him, forgetting about the Darkkings and just wanting to be near his friends. Jasper and Chris nodded to each other and sprinted too. The Darklings followed them, forming a ring around the five Rangers as they converged. The Rangers all stood back to back, shoulders touching ad they assessed the army massing around them.

"There's so many," Andy said hoarsely.

"They're so powerful," Chris added.

"Leo, what do we do?" Jasper asked their leader.

Leo shook her head just the teeniest bit, not that anyone would've noticed. Before she had to come up with answer though, the demon raised his hands and all of the Darklings disappeared. Poof! Like they were never even there. The Rangers all jumped and looked around wildly.

"What happened?!" Austin demanded. "There were there...and then...what?!"

The demon laughed, getting the attention of the Rangers. "Surprised Rangers?"

"Who are you?!" Chris demanded.

"I'm Dopplegan," the demon replied. "And I'm going to end you." He laughed again, then did something that surprised all the Rangers. He turned and ran. He ran away form the Rangers who all hesitated for only a second.

"Follow him!" Leo shouted, leading the way. "Don't let him get away!"

"Oh he's not!" Austin promised.

The followed him to the house of mirrors. He ran straight through the empty entrance, with the Rangers right on his heels. The lighting started to get weird as they went in, and soon it became difficult for Leo to see. She could still hear the demon laughing though, and navigated her way through the maze of reflected surfaces to find him. She suddenly ran into a solid object, bumping into it with a lot of force. She put her hands against it and the lights above her suddenly got really bright. She upped back and saw she was staring at a mirror. She saw seven other hers all reflected around her. "Uh oh. Guys?! Chris?! Austin?! Andy?! Jasper?!" She looked a round, but all the well as looked the same. She couldn't tell which was the exit.

Chris had been following Leo, but when it got hard to see she'd started flowing the sound of the demon. She could swear that his laughing had a mocking tone to it.

_"Come and get me!"_ it seemed to say._ "I know you can't!"_

The blue ranger gritted her teeth. She wouldn't let this demon get the better of her. She ran after him faster, not even noticing that she didn't run into Leo. The lights suddenly got really bright and she ran into something. She stopped with her hands resting against a mirror, and her head resting against it. She backed up quickly and looked around. She was in a room with large mirrors, floor to ceiling height. All around her she saw her confused reflection. "Leo? Jasper?! Andy?!" She waited a beat. "Austin?!" She looked around but none of her friends were with her. "Guys?! Guys?!"

Jasper lost track of how many turns he took following the demon. He ran after the demon, following the sounds of him running. The lights got really bright, like someone had flipped on a switch, and he saw where he was. He was in a narrow passage with mirrors on ethier side of him. He looked down on end and saw what might've been ether a mirror or a reflection. He looked back down the other end and saw the same thing. "Oh no," he muttered. He looked from side to side, wondering which way was the exit.

Austin growled, looking around the mirrored room. Ten green Rangers all copied his movements. "Fuck this! Fuck that guy!"

Andy put his hand against one of the mirrors. "What happened? I was following the others and then..."

Leo looked around again, clutching her blaster with her hand. "Where am I?"


	31. Episode 10: Fun For All pt1 ch3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode X: Fun For All pt1

Chapter Three: A Mirror Maze

A/N: Well this took way longer than I thought it would. I'm really going to try and keep an actual updating schedule guys. I really am. Anyways, enjoy!

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." -Mark Twain

Leo looked around, not sure of where she was or what she should do. She pushed the communication button on her morpher. "Quinn?! Quinn?!" She waited but got no reply. "Chris?! Austin?! Jasper?! Andy?! anyone?!" She heard laughing and took her blaster out. "Who's there?!" She looked around, wondering what was going on. The laughing was high pitched. Like a girl's. It sounded...strangely familiar. She looked at the mirrors around her. She pointed her blaster at one. The reflection in the mirror pointed back. She walked towards it, then fired.

The blast shattered the mirror, sending dozens of shards cascading to the ground. She heard laughing again behind her and spun around. She fired another blast. It hit another mirror, destroying another reflection. "Show yourself!" Leo could feel her hands starting to shake. A feeling of unease crept over her. There was something not right here. She walked forward and stopped. She stared at a reflection that didn't have a blaster out. Her hands were at her sides, on her hips actually. Leo stared at it with wide eyes.

The reflection laughed. "Look at the brave red ranger," she teased. "Shooting shadows and mirrors."

Leo was unnerved to hear her own voice. "Who-who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious Leo?" The reflection took off her helmet and smiled. "I'm you." Leo shook her head. Despite the fact that the reflection looked exactly like her, she didn't want to believe it. There was no way. She shot the reflection and the mirror cracked. They spiderwebbed from the hole over the reflections chest. She smiled. "That the best you got?" The mirror broke apart and Leo stepped back.

"What's going on?"

"You haven't figured it out?" Leo jumped and spun around, pointing her blaster at a new reflection. "And I thought you were smart. Oh that's right, you're not smart. Or brave. Or a leader."

"Be quiet," Leo said pretty quietly herself as she walked closer to the mirror.

"You're a fraud Leo. You aren't anything you pretend to be."

"I said be quiet."

"Mirrors show you who you really are. Want to see more?" The reflects suddenly reached out and her hands came out of the mirror. She grabbed Leo by the shoulders and pulled her through; shattering another mirror in the process.

-Thunder Strike-

"Leo!" Chris shouted. "Leo! Jasper! Andy! Austin!" The blue ranger looked around, wondering how to get out. "How did I even get in here?"

"Chris," a voice said softly. Chris drew her blaster and pointed it out. She swung around, looking for something to shoot.

"Who's there?"

"How confident are you feeling now Chris? Huh? How useless do you feel?"

"Who's there?" She saw several reflections of herself all pointing blasters at her.

"You're not the leader. You're not the smart one. What does that make you?"

"Quiet!" Chris snapped. She shot one of the reflections and the mirror shattered.

"Seven years bad luck, as your superstitious older brother would say."

"Leave Christopher out of this."

"Named after an older brother who did nothing but bring your family grief." Chris tighten her grip on her blaster. She shot another mirror.

"Quiet! Who are you?!"

"I'm the one who knows the truth about your fasade. Everything you've tried to hide from your team." Chris approached a reflection that put her blaster away. She kept hers out and trained on it as she approached. The reflection took its helmet off. "I you."

"This is impossible," Chris whispered. She shook her head, but stood her ground. This had to be a demon trick.

"Impossible? Do I really seem impossible to you? After all you've seen?"

"Stop! You're a trick! A trick of the demons! That's it!"

"Want to test that theory?"

Chris aimed her blaster for the reflection's chest, only to have her reach out of the mirror and grasp the blue ranger by her wrists. Chris stared with wide eyes. "Impossible."

"You wanna see impossible?" The reflection jerked her arms back and pulled Chris through the mirror, shattering it on impact.

-Thunder Strike-

Austin kicked another mirror, hopelessly trying to find a way out. "Yo! Quinn! Princess? Leo?! Ace?! Jas?! Anyone?!" He growled and punched it, not caring about the pain in his knuckles after. He looked around, trying to find a way out. There had to be one. "Come on Austin," he muttered to himself. "Think, think."

A voice laughed. "Think?" it asked. "Since when do you ever think?"

"Huh?! Who the fuck said that?!"

"You don't think. You only act."

Austin whipped his blaster out and started pointing it in random directions. "Tell me who the fuck you are!"

"You're juvenile delinquent. You can't do math, but meth ain't that hard for you."

"I never did meth." Austin kept looking around, his reflections following him as he did. He looked straight on at one and shot it when it lowered its hands. The mirror cracked as it put it's blaster away, and broke apart as it looked at him.

"What a joke." Austin whipped around and kept his gun trained on another reflection without a gun.

"Bro I gonna show you a joke in five seconds here when I blast the shit out of you."

"Oh I'm scared," the reflection sneered sarcastically. "The drug-addict is going to kill me."

"You better fucking believe it."

The reflection took it's helmet off as Austin crept closer. "Go ahead," he said. "Shoot me."

"What are you?"

"I'm your reflection. You'd think even a delinquent like you could figure that one out."

"Shut the fuck up!" He shot the reflection and the mirror shattered apart again.

"Do you really think that will work?" Austin turned his blaster on another reflection.

"What does it take to fucking off you?!"

"Nothing that you can handle. You can barely shoot those foot soldiers."

"Shut up!" He took a jerky step forward. "I'll destroy you!"

"Oh yeah?" The reflection reached out and grabbed his blaster. "Let's see you try." He pulled Austin through the mirror before he could pull the trigger.

-Thunder Strike-

Andy was ready to kill someone. Anyone. As long as he could get out of this weird mirror room. He ran his fingers along the edges of the mirrors, looking for a way out. "There has to be a way out of here."

"Oh? Says who?" a voice asked from behind him.

"Huh?!" The white ranger spun around. His hand fell to his blaster and he wrapped his fingers around the handle. "Who said that?" He looked around, all the reflections following his movement. "Who's there?"

"Poor Andy," the voice said. "So lost in the world."

"How do you know my name?" He pulled his blaster out and aimed around carefully. "Who are you?"

"I'm you." One of the reflections put his blaster away and took his helmet off. Andy was honestly expecting something that looked like one of Stormicon's demons. Instead he was staring at an exact copy of himself. A perfect reflection.

"N-no, you're not me. You're a trick of some kind. Stormicon's doing."

"Oh yeah? Prove it. No one's ever understood you. How can you even begin to understand yourself?"

"You don't know me!" Andy walked closer to the mirror, wondering what would happen if he shot it. Would the reflection die? Would he die?

"Who does? You're just a lonely nerd."

"Shut up."

"A foolish teenager. A worthless and talentless author."

"I said shut up."

"Make me. Oh that's right, you can't fight ether."

Andy's hands started shaking. "You don't know anything." He put his blaster against the glass; right over the reflection's heart.

"No, you're wrong. I know everything." He leaned forward and grabbed the white ranger's arms. "Let me show you." He pulled Andy through the mirror before the white ranger could react.

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper kept his blaster out and ready to fire. His finger was on the trigger. He wasn't going to let anything surprise him. Which is why he fired on the the first reflection that moved independent of him. The glass shattered and he blinked. "I did not just see that."

"Did you?" a voice asked. Jasper spun around and shot another blast. It cracked the mirror and he saw the black ranger in it cross his arms. The shards fell apart and he shook his head.

"I'm seeing things. I'm seeing things."

"Are you really seeing things? I mean, you've seen so many things."

With his own voice echoing around the room, it was hard to tell where it was coming from. "Who are you?"

"I'm the older brother who abandoned the siblings he promised to protect. Oh wait, that was you."

Jasper gulped. "Shut it." He shot the reflection and the mirror broke.

"I'm the smart kid who learned to use violence as a way to solve my problems. Oh no, that's you too."

"Shut it!" He shot another reflection, but the voice laughed at him.

"What exactly do you bring to the team? Hm Japser? Who honestly wants you there?"

"Be quiet." Another broken mirror.

"It's never enough is it? Trying to be the perfect son and the perfect brother."

"I said be quiet!" He shot another reflection. He walked closer to the next one, trying to figure out why he couldn't get rid of it.

"What a loser."

"Shut up! Shut up!" He kept getting closer, trying to figure it out. "You don't know anything about me!"

"I know everything Jasper. And I'll prove it to you."

Before Jasper could figure out what he was talking about, or even think about it himself, the reflection reached out and grabbed him. "Ah!" he yelled in shock. He definitely hadn't been expecting that. He tried to pull away but the reflection unless him through the mirror; shattering it behind them.

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn wasn't panicking persay. She wasn't exactly calm ether. At first everything seemed normal. She sat in her lab, writing code for her project when the alarm went off. The house had been so quiet for the last hour so the sound of the alarms made her jump. She quickly pulled up a map of the city on another screen and looked at it.

"What's going on?" Z asked her.

"There's an attack. They're already there though." She nodded at the colored dots on the map. "Looks like it came to them."

"Do you know of any way to see what's going on?"

"Let me check." Quinn started typing, looking for a way to watch the fight. She saw something out of the corner of her eye and frowned. She turned her head quickly to that screen. It was a couple of screens actually. Two monitors that came up automatically when the attacks were detected. They had five figures on them, each one corresponding to a different ranger and matching their color. Underneath each ranger was different bio scans and things that helped Quinn monitor them during a fight. Next to each ranger was a stack of thin lines, also corresponding to their ranger colors.

Normally, the stacks stayed completely lit up. Now though, one of them had dropped a coupe of lines. She stared at it, wondering if it was something wrong with her computer. The she saw another one do the same thing. Then another. "What- how?!"

"Quinn, what's wrong?"

"Look!" Quinn pointed to the monitors.

"I don't get it."

"Those bars are their energy levels. It monitors how much power they have so I can know if it dips too low."

"Ok."

"Their energy levels just dropped a little!"

"So? Maybe they're fighting really hard?"

"But dropping one after another like that?"

"I'm sure they're fine. There's no need to worry yet." Right after he said it, about a quarter of all the lines suddenly disappeared.

"Now can we worry?"

Z nodded. "Yes now we can worry."

"Good." Quinn started trying to contact the Rangers. "Guys? Come in. Guys? Leo? Chris? Austin? Jasper? Andy?"

"Anything?"

"No. I can't get a signal through to them."

"Can you explain what's going on?"

"No! I don't know what could be causing this!"

"Is it possible their morphers were damaged?"

"Even if they were I'd be able to-" Quinn blinked she'd just noticed that the bright dots that were her friends had disappeared off the map. "That's not good."

"Where did they go?!"

"I don't know!" Quinn snapped. She should've been able to keep tracking them. She took a delete breath and put her fingers on her temples. She put her head down and closed her eyes so that she was deep in thought. She tried to come up with a solution as to why this was happening. She should've been able to track the Rangers. She shouldn't have seen their energy levels drop like that. "I doesn't make any sense." She looked at her uncle. "What're we going to do?"

"Keep trying to contact them. If we can contact them we can try to figure out what's going on and how to fix it."

Quinn nodded. She suddenly had an idea and smiled. "That's it!"

"What?"

"Keep an eye on those energy levels. As long as they stay connected to the morphing grid I should be able to set up a communication through it."

"You can do that?"

"I'm going to try. What choice do we have?"

"So the bars are their connection?"

"No, the color in the body outline show how strong their connection is."

Z nodded. _It's a good thing that's stayed constant-_ As soon as he thought it he watched all of the coloring in the outlines go down a little bit. "Quinn."

Quinn looked up from what she as doing and paled. Something was cutting off their connection to the grid. None of this made any sense. She went back to what she was doing, very aware of Z staring at the monitors. If they didn't help the Rangers soon, they might lose their connection to the grid completely. _If that happens,_ Quinn thought, _I'll never find them. Whenever they are, they might be trapped there forever. Unable to morph. Stormicon would win. I can't let that happen! I can't! I won't! I'll save them._

_I have to._


	32. Episode 11: Fun for All pt2 ch1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XI: Fun For All pt2

Chapter One: A Grave Problem

A/N: And we have another chapter! You guys ready for this?!

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." -Mark Twain

Leo winced as she pushed herself up so she was sitting on her heels. She was de-morphed and cut all on her faces, neck, and arms. She looks around, but couldn't see where the reflection and gone. She got to her feet slowly and gingerly. She looked behind her and saw a broken mirror. _I don't even want to think about how much bad luck that's going to be._ She looked around to try and take in her surroundings.

She was standing in a passageway that was a little narrow, but wide enough that she could stand straight on. Mirrors lined the passage, as a dozen other Leo's all moved in unison with her. She took a deep breath and started humming 1812 Overture as she walked. She clenched her hands into fists to try and keep them from shaking. She kept humming, increasing the volume to try and stay calm. Panicking now wouldn't help her. She had to keep a level head and state focused on finding her team.

After a couple of minutes she heard footsteps. She spun around, but there was no one there. She started humming louder as her heart started pounding. She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and started running. She heard the laughing again and glanced behind her. The reflections were behind her now, chasing her. She shook her head as she kept going. She ran straight into a mirror, momentarily winding herself. She felt around with her hands and discovered there wasn't a mirror on her left. She dashed down that passage, trying to out run them.

"Leo!" Leo stopped. Her heart was pounding and her breath was coming in quick gasps. She looked around and noises she entered a room that was shaped like a hexagon. She looked around, grateful that her reflections were copying. She heard the laughing again and spun around. A reflection was looking right at her. "Where're you going Leo?"

The red ranger shook her head. "This is a trick." Her reflection had red eyes and a dark grey aura around her. There was definitely something strange going on.

"If I'm just a trick then find your way out. Or are you too scared?"

"I'm not scared!"

"Yes you are. You're scared of everyone. And everything. The brave red ranger is nothing but a gentle sprinkle."

"You don't know me."

"I know you're scared of fighting. Everyday you want to stop. Are you scared that you're not perfect little Leo anymore?" Leo shook her head. She saw the reflection reach into a pocket in her skirt. "Here, catch!"

Leo stumbled back as her reflection took what seemed like a rock out of her pocket and threw it. It crashed through the mirror and landed at her feet. She backed up a step, expecting it to be a bomb or somehting. She looked at it as it sat there. It was a dark gold color that seemed to get darker towards the center. She frowned as she got closer. She kicked it a little with her foot but nothing happened. She knelt down and gently picked it up.

She inspected every inch of it, turning it over in her hands. It looked like it was just an ordinary rock. _But then why would...my reflection...throw it at me?_ She shrugged and put it in her own pocket. She could have Quinn look at it when she got back to the house. _I need to find a way out of here._ She went to each mirror, feeling it with her hands. She found that one of them wasn't actually a mirror, but the reflecting images had made it look like there was none. She peeked down the passage but discovered it was clear.

_Maybe I should morph,_ she decided. She clicked her morpher to the side and pushed it. "STORM WARNING!" She knew g was wrong instantly because from the corner of her eye she saw one of her reflections move. It jumped at her, running into the glass. It jumped again and broke free, making Leo stumble back against the opposite wall. It all happened so quick that she wasn't even morphed, and her morpher was apparently not working as fast as it normally would.

Her reflection, which was now somehow exposing outside its mirror, reached out. She put her hands on Leo's morpher. "Let go!" Leo shouted, trying to pull away. But her reflection was crazy strong and used one arm on Leo's chest to keep her pinned against the wall. Her hand grasped the top of Leo's morpher and she seemed to absorb the red light that was emanating from it. Finally Leo managed to get her leg in with the reflection's and trio her. She fell back and Leo laughed herself away quickly.

She looked at her wrist but the damage was done. She was still un-morphed and she couldn't feel the usual amount of every pulsing through her morpher. Something was seriously wrong. The reflection smiled at Leo as she stood up. She held out her hand so her palm was facing up and there was a red light there. Leo blinked and backed up a step. "Look what I have."

"That's my power," Leo said, her voice small. "Give it back!"

"Make me."

Leo attacked her, only to have the clone hold her hand out and blast the real read ranger backwards. She pushed herself to her he feet and ran at the reflection again. The reflection smiled and the red light in her hand got brighter and bigger. Leo suddenly felt herself bombarded with rain droplets. She stumbled back as the drops hit her. It was like acid on her skin. She put her arms up in front of her face. She fell on the ground and moaned in pain. She looked up as the reflection smiled.

She held her hand up and the light traveled down her arm and then the rest of her body. She morphed into the red ranger. Leo's eye widened and she pushed herself backwards a little bit. The reflection smirked. "Scared?" Leo shook her head, but her reflection laughed. "Pathetic. This is going to be fun. I'll see you around...Leona." Leo watched as she reached her hand up again and disappeared in a flash of red light.

Leo sighed and put her head down on her arm. _She took my powers. They're gone._ She suddenly felt really tired and winded. Like something was sucking the life out of her. "I really am pathetic."

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper took a deep breath and tried to focus. He was currently in a long corridor with mirrors at odd angles. It made the walls seem to shift as he walked. He kept his hands out, running his hands along the sides as he did. The space was small enough that his hands could easily each the mirrors lining his walkway. He kept taking deep breathes, trying not to get to worked up. He was getting worried. So far he hadn't seen any of his friends.

_Who knows how long it's been since we've entered this hell on Earth. _He kept his pace up. _This looks like it's starting to turn into a maze. That must mean there's an exit. I just have to find it. _He nodded to himself. It couldn't be that hard. He thought about some of the corn mazes he'd taken his younger siblings too. A local farmer had a free one. And a hayride. Just twenty dollars from his personal stash and they could ride on hay, get lost in corn, and feed pigs. He smiled as he remembered Gabe and Carly laughing. Brian was always scared of the pigs for some reason and would hide behind Jasper.

"But in the corn mazes I was never running for my life from some pyscho image in a mirror." And the entire world hadn't been depending on him then. The worst that would happen was he'd run the risk of losing one of his siblings in the corn. But at the time that had seemed like the end of the world. Now with the actual world depending on him, all 6 billion people, he felt worried. As long as they were trapped, Stormicon could've been destroying the city. His demons coulee been leveling it for all Jasper new.

_That's because you suck as Rangers,_ a voice that sounded like his own whispered in his ear. He shivered and rubbed his ear against his shoulder. _You aren't going to stop Stormicon._

"Watch me."

_You're a dysfunctional group of teenagers. He's an ancient demon with an army. What chance do you have?_

"We have Quinn." He sighed. He hoped Z and Quinn were ok. Knowing them though, if they were attacked they'd have each other covered.

_That's all you have. You certainly don't bring anything to the team. At first you were the only one who knew how to fight, but everyone else is catching on now. What're you going to do?_

"Shut up."

_You may think you're smart but you'll never get anywhere._

"Shut up."

_Once a poor kid always a poor kid. You'll end up back in the slums just like your parents. You'll never be anything. Never._

"Shut up!" Jasper spin around, ready to punch the voice he heard whispering in his ear. He blinked when he realized there was nothing there. He heard laughing and spun around. "Who's there?!" He saw one of his reflections was laying at him. "What are you?"

"I'm you. A reflection is an image of you." The reflection grinned maniacally and suddenly jumped at Jasepr. The black ranger fell back against the opposite wall of the corridor. The reflection pinned his hands up by his head, still grinning. "Come on Jasper. Fight back."

"Oh believe me, I will!" He head butted the reflection, surprised by how solid it was. He took advantage of how stunned it was and swung a punch at him. He hit him in the head and followed with a left swing to the same place. His reflection kneed him in the stomach. Jasper was unable to dodge due to the cramped space of the corridor. He recovered fast, grateful to his ranger training and weekly battles. He charged his reflection, driving him into the mirrors. They cracked with the impact and his reflection smiled.

He slipped back into the cracked mirror, making Jasper stumble forward in shock. "What-" He didn't have time to consider it because he was attacked form begins the next minute. _It must've come through the mirrors behind me!_ His refection pinned his arms behind him and swung him into the mirrors. "Ah!" Jasper yelled as the shards dug into his skin. He swung his head back and hit his reflection in the nose. He broke free and moved away quickly. He painted as blood ran down his face. "I'm done playing." He clicked the side of his morpher. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

Jasper's reflection started grinning again and jumped at the black ranger. It snatched the black light from Jasper's morpher and blaster the black ranger back. It laughed as he attempted to push himself up. His eyes widened when he saw his reflection holding the light. He looked at his morpher and saw that it was no longer glowing, and felt like a dead weight on his wrist. "Oh no."

"Oh yes." The reflection held his hand out and morphed into the black ranger. He brushed his fingers along one of his shoulders. "Thanks for the power up."

"No!" Jasper jumped at him, but the imposter ranger teleported away and the real black ranger got only empty air. He winced as muscles in the side of his torso pulsed pain through his body. He sat down with his back against the wall. He sighed angrily and slammed his hands against the ground. "No! What am I going to do?"

-Thunder Strike-

The reflection seemingly disappeared as soon as Chris hit the ground. She sighed got to her feet. "These demons are really laying it on thick right now." She took in her surroundings, trying to figure out if there was an exit to this mad house. She was in a long hall that was lined with mirrors. The light was bouncing off the shiny surfaces and disorienting her slightly. She took a deep breath and started walking down the hall. She watched her reflections out of the corner of her eye; ready to react if one of them tried to pull her through another mirror.

Her footsteps echoed off the floor as she walked. It wasn't that she knew she was alone, it was that she felt alone. It was like a hollow feeling in her chest. She was ire that if she were to stand still and hold her breath she'd be able to hear her heartbeat. She could feel it in her chest. Every minute that passed without her seeing her psycho reflection, or one of her friends, her anxiety increased. She wasn't a big fan of being alone, or of enclosed spaces. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself subconsciously.

_"Come on Chrissy!" Christopher laughed as he pulled his sister by her wrist._

_"Christo!" Chris snapped, watching as the bead bracelets she'd been making fell onto the floor and apart. "Stop!"_

_"Come on!" He pulled her out of her bedroom and down the hall._

_"Look what I found!" He stopped and grabbed a broom that was leaning against the wall. He let go of his younger sister and held the broom with both hands. He named it against a small trapdoor in the ceiling. He hit it several times, opening it. "Look!"_

_Chris looked up at the small opening. "It's dark."_

_"I wonder what's up there."_

_"Go look."_

_"I can't! I'm to big! But you're not."_

_"What?! No way!"_

_"Chrissy-"_

_"No!"_

_"Come on. Look," he pulled a plastic Cinderella flashlight out of his back pocket. "You'll have this. Come on! Don't be baby."_

_"I'm not a baby!"_

_"Then prove it!"_

_Chris sighed and grabbed the flashlight from him. He crouched down and she got onto his shoulders. He stood up and she slipped her small wrist into the strap of the flashlight. She put her hands on her brother's head and pushed herself up so she could stand on his shoulders. He stumbled and she quickly pulled herself up into the darkness. She switched her flashlight on. She shone it around the small space._

_"Well?!" Christopher demanded._

_"Nothing!" Chris yelled back. "Lots of dust! And spiderwebs, eww!" Chris turned around and stumbled a bit. She reached out and accidentally grabbed the trapdoor. She pulled it shut and yelped when it cast her in complete darkness. "Ahhh! Christo?! Christo?!_

Chris shivered again. She could still remember every detail from that day. How angry her parents were when they found her. Her dad yelling at her brother while her mom comforted her. _Stupid Christopher, _she thought. _He always brought me nothing but trouble._

"You're just like him."

_No I'm not!_

"Yes you are. Christopher and Christella. So alike they're named after each other. Right Chrissy?"

_Don't call me that! No one calls me Chrissy!_

"Why? It's who you are."

_Stop it!_

"You'll always be Chrissy. Always."

"Stop!" Chris shouted. She put a hand on her morpher to try and comfort herself. She felt someone behind her and spun around. Her reflection smiled at her from a mirror. Chris had wandered down a dead end corridor without even noticing it. She stared at her reflection, who smirked in return.

"Poor Chrissy," he reflection pouted. "Always in her brother's shadow."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know you're scared. And cold. A bitch."

"Shut up!"

"Make me." Her reflection suddenly jumped at her, and before Chris could react, had her pinned down on the ground. The blue ranger managed to bring one of her legs up and kneed her reflection in the stomach. It was momentarily winded and she took advantage. She got up onto her knees and punched her reflection in the face. Her reflection tackled her backwards into a mirror. Chris saw stars when her head hit the mirror. She blinked and kicked at her reflection again. She shoved her reflection away and stumbled to her feet. "Time to get rid of you. THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

Her reflection grinned and grabbed the top of the morpher. The blue light was suddenly gone and absorbed by it. It smiled at Chris as the blue ranger punched it to knock it away. The reflection simply righted herself and continued smiling. "Well, well, well. Look what I've got." She stuck her hand out at Chris, knocking her backwards into another mirror. Chris stumbled snd tried to catch herself, cutting her hands on the shards. She blinked and yelled as blood drizzled down her hands and wrists. She looked up at her reflection.

It raised its hand and in a flash morphed into the blue ranger. "Thanks Chrissy. Guess you really are like your brother after all."

Chris couldn't do anything as her reflection teleported away. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to regain her bearings. She pushed herself up, wincing as glass dug into her hands. She took a deep breath and started working again. _I'll make it out of here. I-I have to._

-Thunder Strike-

"Quinn," Z said. "Quinn."

"What?" Quinn was still typing.

"Look."

She glanced up, fingers never pausing in their strokes. She sucked in a breath. Leo, Chris, and Jasper's connections to the Power had all dropped by half. She looked back at her screen. "I think I've almost found a back door."

"Can't you go any faster?"

"I'm hacking the morphing grid! This isn't exactly breaking into a traffic cam! It's the most complex system of energy in the universe! I need time!"

"Well we don't have time!"

"Then get me some!"

Z sighed and ran to one of the tables. He snatched up a blaster prototype and shoved it into his belt. He grabbed another and his teleporter form his pocket. "I'm going to see if I can take out some of the monsters down there. I might be able to give you 15 minutes before I run out of firepower."

"Let's go then. We need to cover for them."

Z nodded and teleported out. Quinn looked at the screen with their energy levels again. "Come on you guys," she whispered. "You can do it."


	33. Episode 11: Fun For All pt2 ch2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XI: Fun For All pt2

Chapter Two: Losing Power and Hope

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you're ready for the next chapter! Big stuff coming in the next one! Stay tuned!

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." -Mark Twain

Andy tried to keep his eyes on the path ahead as he stumbled on. He'd already twisted his ankle landing on the other side of the looking glass. He kept looking behind him, convinced that his reflection was following him. "The last place I wanted to be today was freaking Wonderland," he muttered. He limped down the mirrored corridor, wondering if there was a way out. "I have to find one." He tried not to think about what Stormicon could be up to while he was stumbling around, lost in this crazy mirror maze.

He tried to imagine how he'd get Captain Ace out of this situation. _If that were the case there'd be a secret switch or something like that._ He looked at the. Irons around him. He stopped and put his hand on one. It felt solid. Really solid. He ran his finger tips along the edges, hoping that there'd be a secret switch or a button. But no such luck. He sighed and sat down, deciding to think for a minute. "I can't just keep wandering aimlessly around here." He winced as he touched his ankle gently, trying to get a good look at it. "That's definitely hurt." He sighed and rested his head on the mirror, closing his eyes. He could tell something was really wrong.

The air around him felt awkward, strange. Like he didn't belong where he was. _Of course I don't belong here,_ he scolded himself. _I'm trapped in this crazy mirror place while Stormicon could be destroying the world right now!_ His eyes snapped open and he looked around. He could feel someone watching him. It sent a tingling sensation down his back. He looked around, but he couldn't see anything. The corridor was empty. _I thought for sure I sensed something._

"You'd be right," a voice whispered in his ear. Before Andy could react hands wrapped around his neck. He was pulled back and pinned against the mirror as the hands constricted around his throat. He kicked at the open air, trying to free himself. He jerked forward, but the grip the hands had on him was too strong. He forced himself to focus, despite his lack of oxygen and put his hands on the ground by the mirror. then used all of his strength to push himself forward. He vaulted away from the mirror; feeling the weight of something being dragged with him. He rolled as he landed, placing his adversary under him.

He drove both his elbows into their sides and they released him. He rolled off and crawled away, choking and gasping. His reflection got up, staring him down.

"Y-you!" Andy croaked. He took a deep breath, still trying to replenish his lungs with air.

"Me?" his reflections asked, giving him a strange look. "What about me?"

"You almost killed me!"

"Yes."

Andy honestly found unnerving seeing the cold and calculated look his reflection was giving him. He got to his feet, not sure if fight or flight was the good option in this situation. He took a ready stance, not trusting the copy rant was watching him. "What are you?"

"I'm you."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. I know every thought in your head. Every lonely thought. You think the other Rangers really accept you? You're deluding yourself. They don't accept you. They just want another morpher in the fight."

"Shut up."

"Poor Andy. Unloved by his mother. Unwanted by those he's closest too."

"Be quiet."

"How does it feel, knowing your parents split up because of you? Because you thought they could handle who you were?"

"Be quiet!"

"Sally and April are gone because of you! She left because of you!"

"Shut up!"

"Because she w aged a normal son!"

"Shut up!" Andy tried to control his emotions, but it was becoming impossible. He was trying to keep those thoughts out of his head, but the problem was they were always there.

"You're nothing Andrew! Nothing but a scared little kid! So confused and shy!"

"I said shut up!" Andy attacked his reflection, not actually having any kind of plan. He just attacked. His reflection dodged him easily and he fell on the ground.

"Pathetic."

Andy got to his feet and put his hand on his morpher. "I'll show you pathetic." He clicked the side of the top part. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" His reflection jumped at him before he could complete his morph and absorbed the white light from his morpher.

His reflection smirked as he held the white light in his hand. "Perfect."

"Y-you can't take that!"

"Watch me."

"No!"

Andy tried to attack him, but unfortunately he wasn't in a state to fight. He was blasted backwards and tu,held down the corridor a bit. He looked up in time to see his reflection hold his hand up and transform into the white ranger. He laughed. "Thanks for the power up." He disappeared and Andy moaned.

"Idiot!" he snapped, putting his forehead in the ground. "What've I done?!"

-Thunder Strike-

Austin was getting more frustrated as time went one. He still hadn't found anyone or an exit. Just mirrors and more mirrors. His face and arms were scratched from his trip through the last one. He gritted his teeth. "Damn these demons!" he yelled, pushing a mirror in frustration. It cracked and broke a little from the impact. "Damn them!" He was no closer to getting out than he had been ten minutes ago. "I hate mazes!"

"That's because you're an idiot," a voice whispered in his ear.

"You shut up!" Austin snapped.

"An absolute moron."

"I said shut up!" He started working away, flexing his fingers to try and get the pain out of his knuckles.

"No wonder your brother left you. He needed to distances himself from the failure that is his younger brother."

"Shove it!"

"Your parents shipped you off to boarding schools so they wouldn't have to deal with you!"

"Go fuck yourself!"

"No one in your family loves you!"

"You're damn fucking right they don't!" Austin spun around and found himself face to face with his reflection. "But I don't fucking need them. I don't need anyone!"

"Ex let your friends. Who secretly despise you."

"Shut your fucking face, asshole."

"Takes one to know one."

"You're so fucking dead!" Austin leapt onto him, wrapping his hands around his neck. The two of them rolled around for a minute. His reflection managed to get enough control of their movements to smash Austin's head into a mirror. Austin grabbed a shard and swiped at his reflection with it. It dodged it's head, only allowing the makeshift weapon to scratch the side of it's head. It grabbed Austin's wrists and threw him off with superhuman strength. Austin hit the ground and scrambled to his feet. "Fight me bitch!"

"Gladly!"

Austin and to admit the evil glint his clone's eye was making him uneasy. He didn't like the way it made him look. Evil. Demonic. He shook his head. _Focus! This is a demon!_ He attacked, swinging at his reflections' head. His reflection ducked and drove a foot into his chest. Austin wasn't nearly at his full strength, or focus. He stumbled back and almost fell. He regain balance though and went on the offensive again. He threw punch after punch at his reflection, forcing it backwards. He kept up his assault, driving his anger out on the clone.

His reflection just kept smirking though. "That all you got weakling? Or should I say weak link?!"

"I'll show you a weak link!" Austin snapped. He put his hand in his morpher. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

His reflection jumped on him, catching him by surprise. He definitely wasn't used to being attacked while morphing. His reflection put its hand on his morpher and absorbed the energy from it. Austin pulled back, stumbling away and into the ground. But it was too late. He looked at his morpher, which was no longer glowing an felt like little more than a paper weight on his wrist. His reflection chuckled lowly. "Well, well, well."

"The fuck did you just do?!" Austin demanded, not having the energy to get up.

"I think I just stole your power." It pointed it's open palm at Austin. He was blasted backwards several yards. Pain radiated though his body.

"I won't let you get...away with this! I'll stop you!"

His reflection laughed. "You! Stop me?! That's cute." It raised its hand and transformed into the green ranger. "I have a job to do. Later bitch."

Austin gritted his teeth as it teleported away. "You're going to regret that! I promise!"

-Thunder Strike-

Now Quinn was panicking. It was bad enough she still wasn't able to locate the Rangers. But all of their connections to the morphing grid had dropped below 50%. She sighed and threw her hands up in frustration. "This is impossible! Ugh!" She tried to come up with another solution. The sensors were going crazy with all the demon activity going on in the city. "What am I going to do?! This want nearly as hard when I had to connect the morphers-" she stopped. Connecting something grid wasn't as hard as trying to hack it out right. "That's it!"

She ran to her fling cabinet and unlocked a drawer. She pulled out a box and opens it on her way back to her computer. She took out five new dog tags. She sets uo the scanners she's crated for the tags and slipped each one in. "I how this works," she murmured, getting work connecting them.

-Thunder Strike-

Z landed in the city and wanted no time blasting the first demon he saw. He kept firing, as he faced them. He aimed and shot in rapid succession to push them back. He couldn't keep himself form thing that they'd done something to the Rangers, his Rangers, and they deserved to be killed. He was suddenly basted with something and was shot backwards. He got up and gasped. "Impossible!"

There were five Rangers walking towards him. Except something was wrong. Several somethings actually. Their blasters were out and pointed straight at him. The Darklings didn't attack them for some reason, but parted to let them through their throng as they approached. There was also something off about them just by looking at them. Their colors were off. Z wasn't one to think that he was colorblind, but he was starting to doubt that. He knew the colors for their suits, but look at them something was off. The colors weren't as bright.

"What've you done with the Rangers?!" he demanded.

"Nothing compared to what we're going to do with you," the blue ranger responded. They fired again and he dodged to the side.

"We merely got them out of the way for our plan to commence," the red ranger said. "And stole their powers of course."

"I knew it." He started firing, but the Rangers simply dispersed and came at him. _It's not the Rangers,_ he thought as kept firing. _It's not the Rangers. It's not he Rangers._ Unfortunately there were a lot of objects for them to hide behind. They were taking advantage of it, suing this cover to avoid his blaster as he moved around quilt, trying to get a lock on one. He was shot from the side and stumbled from the pain. He gritted his teeth and took out the other blaster. He started shooting again, this time with both weapons. He spotted the black ranger and aimed for him. The ranger hit the ground and fried at Z's feet. "Ah!"

"Face it Z," the red ranger said, walking right up to him. Her blaster was eleven at his chest. He had to keep his own pointed at his sides to keep the other four away. "you're done for."

"No I'm not. You're not my Rangers."

"Yes we are. A reflection is a perfect image of a person. Of who they really are."

"The. You're defiantly not them. They're not like this."

"Aren't they? Let me ask you Z, do you ever feel guilty about the weapons you've created? We are what you've created."

"You're a demon spell that we'll put a stop to!"

The red ranger laughed. "If you were actually capable of saving those Rangers I might believe that."

Now it was Z's turn to laugh. "You under estimate my niece."

The red ranger shot him and he fell back. He dropped the blasters as they closed hi on him. He grabbed his teleportation device and got himself out just as they died on him at once.

"He got away," the green ranger said.

"That's no concern of ours anymore," Dopplegan told them. "Start attacking the city. We need to create plenty of chaotic energy for Emperor Stromicon."

"Yes Sir!" the five dopplegangers replied. They split up and headed for the city center, determined to terrorize as many people as they could.

Dopplegan chuckled as he watched them go. "Excellent. Nothing can stop me now!"


	34. Episode 11: Fun For All pt2 ch3

Episode 11; ch3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XI: Fun For All pt2

Chapter Three: The Super Storm

A/N: Hey readers! I know it's been forver, but this chapter took a while. But it's long and exciting, so I hope you guys are ready! Enjoy!

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." -Mark Twain

Leo stumbled as she walked. She was feeling more and more tired as she went on. She reached out and put a hand on one of the mirrors to steady herself. Normally when she was hurt she didn't feel it when she was morphed. Now though pain was pulsing through her every nerve. And she was tired. Really tired. She sighed and sat down, staring at her morpher. It felt like little more than a toy now. She clicked the top disc to the side and waited. She saw a flicker of red light from the top of the morpher. But it didn't light up with the raindrops captured in the red light. She clicked it back and sighed.

The reflection had taken her power. She had been wandering around the mirror maze for who knew how long without a way out. She sighed and put her head in her hands. "What am I going to do?" she whispered. The situation seemed pointless. She couldn't contact Quinn for help. In a situation like this her best friend was the one she would turn to for help. She wrapped her hands around her knees as the truth crept into her chest. Without Quinn, who knew everything, without Chris, who had the backbone the red ranger knew she'd never have, she was useless.

"I'm not a leader," she whispered. "I'm not a ranger, or a hero. I'm not even brave." She felt tears prick at the edges of her vision. She'd never felt so lost and alone before. She wondered if the other Rangers were ok. She wondered if she'd ever get out.

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper sighed as he looked at his morpher again. He tried to activate it, but it only put out a small snap of light. Barely enough to show the clouds that were normally suspended in the dark light. He tapped it, as if that would make it functional again. Dread was pooling in his stomach, making his muscles clench. _If only I had a way to contact Quinn and Z,_ he thought. _They'd know what to do. They always do._ The truth of the situation was making him despair. He'd never realized how much they demanded on Z and Quinn until he couldn't reach them.

"Quinn would know how to get out," he whispered. "She'd know the way or she's build a device or something." He felt his heart pounding in his chest. If he didn't get out, who knew what could happen. Would he spend forever wandering the mirrors? Would he ever find a way out? _What if there is no way out? _he wondered. _What if I'm trapped here forever?_ He stumbled, suddenly feeling more tired and reached out to a mirror to steady himself. He could normally think he way out of any situation with his unique combination book and street smarts. But not this time. He felt he weight of his situation crushing him. He was trapped. And there was no way out.

-Thunder Strike-

The silence was really starting to get on Chris' nerves. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her feet on the floor. She looked at her morpher again. She clicked it gently, hoping for a miracle. Instead all she got a feeble ray of blue light that was onto sustained for a few seconds. _I wonder if Quinn will be mad if she has to fix these,_ Chris thought idly. She leaned against a mirror and slowly slid to the ground. She felt her confidence shaking. _I couldn't even stop that reflection from taking my powers. It was right. How can we expect to beat Stormicon if we can't even get out of a house of mirrors?_ She looked at her morpher again. It felt impossibly heavy on her wrist.

She didn't normally notice the weight, but now with her powers gone it was all she had to focus on. She was tempted to take it off. She hadn't removed it since getting it. They were pretty much indestructible and water-proof so there was never a need to take it off. But there was always every reason to keep it on. She knew that the others felt the same way. Their morphers were their life lines to Quinn and Z. Their source of power. Without the morphers they were little more than ordinary humans. Without the Power they were nothing. She wrapped her arms around herself and seemed to curl up. She started shaking. "Help. Please. Anyone. Please help."

-Thunder Strike-

Rage built up inside of Austin as he punched another mirror. It cracked and he swore, but it didn't help. _Nothing's going to help, _he thought. He sat down and leaned against the broken mirror. _I'm fucking trapped and nothing is going to change that. _He knew if he was anyone else he might have had an actual chance wolf getting out of here. If he was Quinn he'd have the intelligence to find his way. If he was Leo he's have the natural talent to help him. If he was Chris he'd have the conviction to get out no matter what. If he was Jasper he'd have training and practice to find his way out of the situation. If he was Andy he'd have the imagination to think of how to deal with this. _But I'm not any of them,_ he thought bitterly. _I'm just me. I'm just dumb Austin. I'm not smart, or talented, or creative. I'm barely even a good person._

He nodded in agreement with himself. This was definitely true. He looked at his mopher and fiddled with it. "Storm warning," he said softly. He clicked the dial but it did nothing but emit a small ray of green light. It was gone so fast he couldn't even make out the lightning bolts holographically embedded in the light. He scowled suddenly and banged his wrist against the ground, as if that was going to bring back his powers. He clenched his fist, wishing for some kind of help. _If I don't get out of here, if none of us get out of here, then the demons will win._ It occurred to him that maybe his friends had already found a way out. _Maybe they left me here. I wouldn't be surprised. No one's ever looked out for me before, why should they start now? _He sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweater. _Looks like I'm on my own._

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper stopped walking and leaned against the a mirror. He could see small patch of fog his breath created on the mirror. He slowly slumped to the floor. "Thunder strike, storm warning," he said half-heartedly. He didn't really expect anything to happen, which is exactly what he got. The face of the watch flicked with a dim white light, but it sparked out. He sighed and stared at it softly. He'd always thought with his morpher he'd be able to find a way out of any situation. And so far nothing had been able to stop them. But now he hadn't found a way out before his reflection took his power. Now he was stuck with no apparent way out and his morpher was little more than a fancy watch with snowflakes on it.

"I don't think there's a way out," he whispered. "I can't find a way out of here." He felt the fear gripping his stomach. He couldn't believe this was how it ended. Trapped and alone; if alone was still alone when he was surrounded by images of himself. He could see himself reflected back at him. The bruises forming on his face and the cuts on his neck and chest. He looked like Asa after a terrible fight. "Second book," he murmured. "The second book was the worst." He shivered in the cold. He hadn't really noticed the slight chill in the air. He wished he had someone with him to make him warmer. Austin and Jasper were usually pretty warm just in principle. He wrapped his arms around his torso, wincing slightly.

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn was ready to bang her head off the key board. She knew she was on the right path to getting in contact with the Rangers, but one glance at their power levels told her that she was running out of time. The colored lines showing their connection to the Power were dwindling lower now. She sighed as she kept connecting the new dog tags to the morphing grid. She could feel Z behind her, toying with a blaster. They both knew that if they didn't get the Rangers back soon, he'd have to go down again and start fighting the demons.

"Come on, come on, come on," Quinn whispered as she kept typing; coding her way into the morphing grid. She was getting close, she didn't know how she knew, she just did. It was a feeling in her gut. "Yes!" she cheered suddenly.

"What?!" Z asked, jumping up from his perch on the edge of one of the worktables. "What happened?"

"I'm in! I've connected the tags to the morphing grid!" Quinn kept typing, keeping her eye out for what she needed. She matched the coding to that of the morphers, but then she frowned. "No!"

"What?!"

"I don't know if it's fully connected because of how low their connection the Power is."

"Why is it going down like that?"

"I don't know!" She sighed. "Maybe it's because their powers were stolen!"

Z sighed. "They're losing faith." He started pacing a little bit. "Maybe this was a mistake Quinn."

"What'd you mean?"

"If they can't handle a small set-back like this-"

"They're trying!" Quinn snapped. "They're trying!"

"We need them to try harder!"

"You think I don't know that?!" She sigehd.

Meanwhile, Leo was looking around in amazement. "Quinn?" the red ranger asked in the empty corridor. She heard it again, Quinn's voice.

"I know we have a lot riding on them!"

"Quinn?!" Leo asked. "Quinn?!" She realized where the sound was coming from a no lifted up her hand with her morpher on it. Little did she know, the other Rangers were doing the same thing. Chris was staring at her morpher in shock. She pushed the communication button. So did Jasper.

"Quinn?!" Jasper practically yelled. "Quinn you there?!"

Andy was gripping his mopher with the opposite hand as he stared at it. "Thank god."

"I knew she'd find a way," Austin smiled.

"Quinn," Leo whispered.

"The Rangers can do it!" Quinn insisted. "They can pull through this I know they can!" Leo felt surprised. Did Quinn really believe in them that much? She heard her friend sigh. "Leo is like a raging downpour. Consistant, powerful. Seemingly weak rain drops that form a powerful force of nature. Chris is like a howling wind. Loud, strong, sure. Gentle and sweet one minute, destroying everything in her sight the next. Austin is like electrified lightning. Erratic, unstable. But when he hits, he hits hard. Austin is like the freezing snow. He reflects the light around him. He seems cold unit, you learn he can be warm. Not meant to be everywhere, he thrives in the right conditions.

"Jasper is like a doubling cloud. Ominous, obviously dangerous. He comes in full force or not at all. There's no in between with him. They're our Rangers Z. We can't. Give up on them! I refuse to!"

Leo clenched her fists. "Quinn's right." She stood up suddenly, energy starting to trickle into her muscles.

"We can't give up," Chris said. She pushed herself to her feet stubbornly.

"Morpher or not, Stormicon can't win," Austin decided. He lurched to his feet and quickly found his footing. "Never."

"I don't think power rangers are supposed to give up," Andy said to himself. He stood up, a little unsteady at first, but quickly finding his balance.

"Quinn, believes in us, so we must be doing something right," Jasper muttered. He stood up and looked at his morpher. "There's gotta be at least a little bit of power in the thing."

All of the Rangers were inspecting their morphers now. Their confidence in themselves grew as they looked for a sign their morphers still worked. Quinn blinked. "That's impossible!" she gasped.

"What?" Z asked.

"Look!" Quinn pointed to the body outlines. The lines were starting to go up again. "Their connection, it's getting stronger!"

"It is," Z nodded. "It is."

Leo felt her conviction grow. "I'm not done yet," she said. "We're not done yet." The face of her morpher blinked with red light snd she smiled. She hit the teleportation buttons no was teleported out of the mirrors.

-Thunder Strike-

When the red ranger could see again she was in the city. She saw a flash of blue light next to her and smiled. "Chris!"

"Leo!" the blue ranger smiled. The two Rangers hugged. There was a flash of white flight and they saw Andy.

"Leo, Chris!" Andy grinned. He threw his arms over their shoulders. "I'm so glad to see you two!"

"Same!" Leo replied. There was a flash of black and green lights as Jasper and Austin teleported in.

"Hey we're all alive!" Austin smiled.

"Yeah," Jasper agreed.

"Good to have you guys back," Quinn said from their morphers.

"Man it's good to hear your voice again Computer Q," Austin replied.

"It sure is," Jasper agreed.

"Well now you guys got work to do. I'm sending the coordinates to your morphers now."

"We're on it!" Leo smiled.

"Storm chasers!" the five of them yelled. "Online!" They summoned genie bikes and got on. Leo knew they were still running on low energy, but faint red light around her was still there. She still had power left. And she would see it thought to the end. They drove straight to the coordinates Quinn sent them. They felt energy and power zipping through them as they drove. They found their dopplegangers and hopped off their bikes.

"Yo!" Austin yelled to get their attention. "Give us back our powers!"

"Ahaha!" Dopplegan laughed. "Don't make me laugh! Darklings, descend!"

"We can take these guys!" Jasper said as the group found themselves surrounded by Darklings. He ducked as one of them tried to punch him. He popped back up and slammed his fist into its head. He kicked another in the chest and spun around, kicking another one. He punched another, moving between the foot soldiers with ease. He felt himself growing stronger with every one he took down.

Austin meanwhile was tripping and shoving the demons all over the place. He grinned mischievously as he tripped another one and used its own momentum to shove it into two more. He narrowly avoided being blown aside and swept the legs out from three. He punched another on the stomach, then kicked a second in the chest. He took them down on twos and threes, never once letting up. He stumbled back as a a gust of wind clipped him. He stumbled into Andy, who'd been hit in the stanch. "You good?"

The white ranger nodded. "Yeah. I'm good." He ran at the demons who'd knocked him back. They scattered a second too late and he battled into them. He sent several down right away, and was soon swarmed by them. He kicked out at them, trying to get them away. He started punching at them; landing blows on the chests, heads, stomachs, anything he could find. He spun on his heel and kicked on that had been sneaking up on him. He grabbed another by the arm and flipped it over his own body. It tumbled into a group of four, knocking them down. He jumped on them and dissipated the group. He punched another in the stomach and continued on through to the one behind it. He caught a glance of Chris, as she moved gracefully the ought the throng.

The blue ranger flipped over a group of Darklings as they attempted to knock her back with a gust of wind. She turned on them and started taking them down. A few swift kicks and punches and she had a cloud of dissipated foot soldiers at her feet. She swung and punched one of them in the chest. She avoided several hands that tried to grab her and kicked through all of them with one solid motion. She flipped backwards and away from more grabbing hands. She kicked upwards and too out two more, putting her fists up in a ready stance as she came down. She punched out again and took out another. She saw Leo dodging left and right, avoiding the Darklings that were attempting to encircle her.

Leo looked around herself and quickly started punching and kicking anything within reach. She spun around and took down another one that had been trying to sneak up behind her. She kicked a third one and grabbed the wrist of one that that had reached out for her. She spun around and kicked it backwards, giving it a good shove into the ones behind it. She smiled and ducked as two more arms shot out at her. She grabbed them both and flipped over the demons that were attached to them. She elbowed one and spun, punching the last one in the face. Th Rangers regrouped and faced Dopplegan and his copy-cat Rangers.

"Impressive," Dopplegan said. "But we still have your powers."

"Our powers are more then just what's in our morphers!" Leo yelled. "The Power is a part of us now!"

"As long as we're Rangers," Chris added. "Nothing can make us powerless!"

All five Rangers were now glowing with their respective colors. They all raised their morphers and the others gathered on top of them. They clicked the dials to the side and their respective whether symbols appeared in their holographic lights.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

"Red ran ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"Green lighting ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!"

"You think that can stop us?" Copy Leo said. "We have all your weapons!" As if to prove it, they all grabbed their weapons tags and inserted them in their blasters.

"Thunder weapons, activate!" the five Copy Rangers yelled.

"Rain sticks!"

"Wind fans!"

"Lightning hammers!"

"Snow scrapers!"

"Cloud maces!"

"Haha!" Dopplegan laighed. "Looks like you rangers are trapped! Again!"

"Our weapons were no match for them last time," Jasper said.

"All we can do is fit fire with fire," Andy replied, not liking their chances.

"We can defeat them!" Leo told them confidently. "Remember that the Power is with us!" She looked at their enemies, not far away. "Nothing will stop us!"

Quinn smiled as she looked at Z. "You know I think they finally get it."

"What makes you say that?" he asked her, leaning on the desk next to her.

She grinned as the dog tags that had been sitting in their scanners started to glow with their corresponding Ranger colors. "Oh just a wild, guess." She opens up communication with the Rangers. "Guys, open your hands."

The Rangers all held up a hand and the dog tags appeared in them. "New tags?" Jasper asked.

"A power up," Quinn explained.

"You think we're ready for something like that?" Leo asked her. She heard Quinn chuckle.

"I've always know, but now you know it too."

The Rangers all smiled and held up their morphers again.

"Huh?!" Dopplegan asked. "I never sensed these powers in you before! What're you doing?!"

"Check this out!" Andy smiled.

"Super storm, upgrade!" the five Rangers yelled in unison.

They instead their new tags into a slot on the side of their morphers and clicked the dials another click to the right. They pushed the faces down and a circle of light appeared around each ranger, matching their ranger colors. The circles split, one part going up and one part going down. All five Rangers now had grey sashes traveling vertically down their torsos. One each on they had a colored circle with a weather pattern in it. One the bottom was a red circle with gold rain drops. Next was a blue circle with gold wing currents. Above that a green circle with gold lightning bolts in it. The next one up white with a good snowflake in it. The final circle was a black one with a gold cloud outline on it. In the center, above their chests was the gold outline of swirl. The circles then swirled into their Rangers hands, forming weapons. They felt the power zipping around inside of them.

"The raging downpour, super storm red!" Leo shouted.

"The howling wind, super storm blue!" Chris yelled.

"The erratic lightning, super storm green!" Austin shouted.

"The freezing snow, super storm white!" Andy yelled.

"The rumbling cloud, super storm black!" Jasper shouted.

Leo smiled as she looked down at her new weapon. She was holding a red crossbow that was shaped like a hawk. The pointed part was the head, with the wings spread out in the cross part. She pointed at Dopplegan and his copy-cats. She pulled ten trigger and caused all six of them to be blasted backwards form the shots she fired. "Whoa!"

"Sweet," Austin smiled, examining his own weapon. It was was a green axe, although it was larger than a normal sized axe, with the head leaver than his own and a pretty short handle. The top bladed part was a bobcat head, with the outline of the animal going down the handle.

"Let's get 'em!" Chris said. The five Rangers attacked, while marveling at the newfound speed and agility they felt. Chris had her when in a blue weapon that was the shape of a large tiger claw with white stripes on it. Each of the "toes" had a blade in the shape of a claw on it. The Copy Cat Rangers had scattered, so she had a clear path to the blue one. "Wind storm claw!" she yelled, swinging it. Her clone tried to block her, but the claw was so powerful that it was knocked back. It cut through the phony ranger suit and dark purple light started shining out dully. Chris smirked and swung again, hitting it across the chest. The blue ranger kept up her attacks, punching the claw into the cop-cat. It stumbled and nearly fell on it's back. Chris spun around, sending power into the claw. "Gust blast!" she shouted, scratching blue claw marks into the clone. She spun the other way and left more claw marks going in the opposite direction and the clone dissolved into dark purple light. Chris walked into the light and it turned blue. She grinned as it absorbed back into her body. "Awesome!"

Jasper meanwhile was carrying a black shield that was in the shape of a falcon with outstretched wings. "Cloud Storm Defender!" He smiled as he slammed the shield into the copy cat black. He fired to black blasts from the falcon's eyes, hitting the fake black ranger. He ran forward and kicked him, making him back up more. Jasper hit him with the shield again, then raised it as the copy-cat black ranger fired his blaster at the real one. Jasper felt the blasts bounce off harmlessly and fried again. The copy-cat was thrown off his feet and landed on his back. "Had enough yet?!" Jasper smiled. He slammed his shield into the copy-cat again and it almost fell back. He fired again, then sued his shield to block the cloud maces that were trying to knocking him into next week. He felt them hit the shield, but it was like a pin pong ball hitting a piece of wood. He smirked and fired balata form the falcon's eyes again. They hit the clone in the hand and it dropped the maces. "Overcast strike!" Jasper yelled, spinning. He channels energy into the shield which started to glow with dark light. He fired on the clone. It exploded into dark purple light, which turned black as he stepped into it. It absorbed into him and he grinned. "Take that!"

"You even knew your new attack!" Quinn praised. "Although why it's different I don't quiet know...must be something wrong with an algorithm."

Andy grinned under his helmet as he stood against his copy-cat. He raised his right hand, which held a snow white whip, which had a whip that was shaped like a fox tail. "Ice Storm Striker!" he yelled, swinging it his arm. The whip cracked against his clone, making him stumble back. He cracked it again, cutting open the suit of the copy-cat. He saw the dark purple light starting to seep out of the cuts he'd made. His clone tried to swing at him, but Andy simply knocked it away with his weapon. "That's cute. Let me show you the true power of ice!" He ran at the copy-cat and cracked the whip again, knocking the copy off its feet. It scrambled up with another gash marring it's suit, spewing more dark purple light. Andy flicked the whip forward and wrenched the first snow scraper from its hands. He smiled as he tossed it aside and reached for the other one. He yanked that one free too and smirked. "Looks like you're out of weapons." He spun around, whirling the whip over his head. "Blizz blitz!" he yelled, cracking it down on the clone, first from one side and then the other. It was destroyed in a burst of dark purple light and he smiled. He stepped into the dark light and it turned white. He felt the rejuvenation hit him as the light absorbed into him.

Austin was grinning mischievously as he swung his axe. "Lightning Storm Axer!" He swung at his clone, hitting it in the chest. He smirked as a gash appeared in it's chest. Dark purple light started to seep out and the clone snarled. The green ranger laughed and swung it again. He added another gash to the copy-cat's chest, parallel to the first one. The clone tired to hit him with the Lightning hammers, but Austin blocked them with his axe. He heaved the axe against the hammers and knocked them out of the clone's hands. He relished the apparent shock in its body language before spinning around and hitting it in the neck. More dark purple light started to pour out. He hefted his axe up and sliced starchy though the clone's neck. It disappeared in a fog of the dark purple light. The light turned green and Austin stepped into it. He smiled as it absorbed back into his body. "Aww yeah!"

Leo used her weapon to stop the rain sticks that were coming down at her. She pushed up and hit her clone with the crossbow. "Thunder Storm Crosser!" she yelled, shooting it again. She knocked the copy-cat backward and followed it. As it got to its feet, it combined the two rain sticks into one. It attacked Leo, who avoided it expertly. She tripped the clone again, sending it tumbling to the ground. She shot it in the back and it started bleed the dark purple light. Her heart started racing at the sight of it. The feeling of chaos in awed at the back of her mind, but she tried to ignore it. The clone regained its senses and at attacked again. The red ranger took aim and shot it in the left hand. She left a hole that oozed fake pull light. She smiled triumphantly and shot the other hand quickly. The rain stick was sent flying away, clattering across the ground. Leo powered up her weapon, spinning around. "Downpour strike!" she shouted, firing her weapon. The shots hit the clone and it disappeared into dark purple light. Leo nodded satisfactorily and stepped into the light. It turned red and she absorbed it back.

The Rangers all regrouped and lined up against Dopplegan. "It's over!" Leo shouted. "You guys lose!"

"Again!" Austin added.

"You Rangers haven't beat me yet!" Dopplegan boasted. "And as soon as you get close I'll delicate your powers again!"

"Who said anything about getting close?" Leo demanded. "Ready guys?"

"Ready!" the other four nodded.

She held her crossbow in a fire-ready position. "Thunder Storm Crosser!"

Chris fit her claw in the end of Leo's weapon, locking it in securely. "Wind Storm Claw!"

Austin fit his axe on with the head locking into Chris's weapon and the yanked going down the side. "Lightning Storm Axe!"

Jasper put his shield on the end of the axe, securing it. "Cloud Storm Defender!"

Andy went last, flicking his wrist out and laying it down the top of the weapon. "Ice Storm Striker!"

The Rangers lined up on either side of Leo, Chris and Austin each placing a hand on her shoulder; Jasper placing a hand on Chris' and Andy putting one on Austin's.

"Super Storm Striker, ready!" the five of them yelled in unison. They channeled their energy into it and Leo pulled the trigger. "Fire!" A blast made of five colors; red, blue, green, white, and black, spiraled at Dopplegan. It hit him and drove struggle through him, making him explode. The Rangers dropped their hands and Leo lowered the weapon.

"That was fucking awesome!" Austin cheered. He gave Andy a high-five.

"We aren't done yet," Leo said.

Up in the cloud castle, the three Superior demons all raised their spears. "Chaotic energy," they chanted, "give this demon life again!"

"There it is!" Chris yelled as the giant funnel cloud spiraled down, leaving a now ,inch bigger Dopplegan.

"You Rangers have made a big mistake!" he yelled.

They grabbed their Zord-balls. "Thunder zords, activate!"

"Thunder hawk Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder tiger Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder fox Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder falcon Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder Strike Megazord!"

"Be careful guys," Leo told them. "He won't be easy to beat."

"Psh!" Austin said dismissively. "We can take him."

Dopplegan swung at the Megazord, making it move backwards. It kept avoiding him, its pilots worried about the powers being duplicated again. He laughed snd gave it a shove, making it almost lose its footing.

"I saw we call the storm chasers!" Jasper suggested.

"Excellent idea!" Leo nodded. They inserted the tags for their bikes.

"Storm chasers, online!" the five of them shouted. "Storm Chaser Megazord!"

The Megazord moved with more ease around the demon, skating around to avoid his every hit. It swung the tire spear and hit the demon in the chest. He stumbled backwards and the Megazord swung its weapon again. Dopplegan scowled, quite a feat considering his lack of mouth, and grabbed onto the spear. The Megazord tried to shake him off, but he held on tight.

"Haha!" he laughed as eh started absorbing some of its energy.

"Oh hell no!" Austin yelled as they tried to wrench it away. "He's going to clone the Megazord!"

"We really can't let that happen!" Jasper agreed. They readjusted the grip and allowed the wheels on the end to end up neat Dopplegan's face. The wheels suddenly started spinning at impossible speeds, ranger against the demon's face. He stumbled back, yelling in pain. The Megazord took the opportunity to reposition itself here he couldn't reach the spear.

"Doesn't matter!" Dopplegan laughed. "I still got some of your powers!" He held his hands out and lightning zapped at the Megazord, as well as rain drops pelting it. The Rangers all held on as sparks rained down on them on the inside.

"Let's get rid of him!" Chris suggested.

"Gladly!" Leo agreed. They all flipped the first three switches.

"Storm chaser Megazord final strike!" they yelled. The Megazord skated forward with wheels spinning. It punched Dopplegan, then drove straight though him with the spear.

"No! I almost had you! Almost!" he yelled as he exploded.

"Almost isn't close enough," Leo smiled as Jasper and Andy high-fiver Chris and Austin. They high-fived Leo, who pumped her frosts in the air. "The storm has passed!"

-Thunder Strike-

The Rangers all ran straight to Quinn as soon as they were back. They enveloped her in a group hug, making her squeal. "You guys like the power up?" she asked, fixing her glasses.

"Oh my gosh Quinnits amazing!" Leo cheered.

"Fucking fantastic!" Austin agreed.

"Your best work yet," Jasper nodded, making her blush.

"I'm glad you guys like it. I have to warn you though, it relies on chaotic energy for an initial energy starter. I'm not sure what the long-term effects of it on humans is, so I'd only use it as finisher for now."

"No problem," Leo told her. She wanted nothing to do with that energy anymore.

"Come on!" Andy said, grabbing Jasper and Austin's hands. "Let's go celebrate!" The three do them ran upstairs Chris rolled her eyes.

"Guess we'd better go keep an eye on them," she said. Z nodded and they followed the boys. "You two coming?"

"Yeah, one sec," Leo replied. She pulled the dark gold gem out of her pocket. "Hey Quinn."

"Yeah?" Quinn asked, looking away from something she'd started fiddling with.

"I...found this while we were in that crazy house of mirrors." Leo held it out and Quinn studied it curiously.

"Interesting." Quinn took it from the red ranger and studied it. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's giving me the creeps. I thought you should be the one to hold onto it."

Quinn nodded absent-mindedly. "Mhm. I'll run tests on it as soon as possible."

"Great, thanks." Leo turned to go upstairs. She paused when she was halfway up, just remembering that they'd originally had that day off. She turned to tell Quinn, then stopped when she saw her working. She was reminded of how Quinn never got a day off. Or out. She worked almost 24/7 for the team. The red ranger smiled as an idea suddenly hit her. That smile turned into an all out grin as she raced up the stairs to tell the others about her idea.

-Thunder Strike-

The three generals bowed in front of the throne. "Sir,e the plan...failed," Blizzitor said. "The rangers have won again."

Stormicon nodded. "The the sunstone?"

"The red ranger took it," Hurricous replied. "They are now in possession of it."

Stormicon nodded again, this time with more conviction. "Excellent. Then all isn't lost. We can still defeat them."

Excuse me sire," Tornidon said, "but how exactly are we going to do that?"

"You'll see," Stormicon smiled. "We're going to beat those Rangers at their own game!"

-Thunder Strike-

Back at Cliffton Manor, Leo snuck downstairs after dinner and saw that Quinn was still hard at work. She smiled and snuck up behind her. "Hey."

"Oh, hey Leo," Quinn replied. "Sorry I missed dinner. Z brought me down some. I just have to finish these repairs and-" She stopped when Leo put her hands gently on her own and set them down. Quinn put the Zord down and looked at her.

"Come on," Leo said, taking her hand. Quinn saw an unusual spark of mischievousness in her eyes. "I have something to show you." She led Quinn back upstairs, running as fast as she dared.

"Leo where are we going?" Quinn laughed.

"You'll see," Leo replied. They finally stopped in front of the library doors.

"Ok, we're at the library."

"Quinn Oliver," Leo said, throwing open the doors. "Welcome to Camp Thunder Strike!" Quinn gasped as she stepped inside. The Rangers had rearranged the furniture so that everything was against the walls. In the center of the room were six sleeping bags all arranged in a circle around a fire pit made of books. Thiugh, instead of a fire, there was a cool lamp that blew air on an orange and red piece of cloth, making it look like fire. Quinn couldn't stop grinning as she walked in more and Leo shut the doors.

"You like it?" Chris asked. "We even added some stars." She pointed up at the roof and Quinn had to gasp again. There were glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, arranged in familiar constellations.

"We looked up the constellations for the stars," Jasper told her.

"And we found all this stuff upstairs in one of the bedrooms," Andy supplied.

"I asked Z if we could have a real fire," Austin said. "And he asked me what kind of drug I'd managed to sneak into the house. Which to me wasn't a definite 'no'-"

"It was a 'no'. Trust me."

"Do you like it?" Leo asked Quinn, standing beside her.

"I...I love it! Thank you guys so much!"

"Thank Leo, it was her idea," Chris said. Quinn beamed and gave Leo a huge hug.

"Thank you Leo!"

"Anything for you Quinn," Leo replied, hugging her back. "You do ten times more than any of us. You deserve a day off too."

"And since you can't go outside," Jasper said as Leo lead Quinn to sit down on a sleeping bag. "We brought the outside to you."

"Sort of," Austin amended. "But it's the thought that counts."

"Definitely," Quinn agreed. "What now?"

"Well," Andy said. "I raided the food pantry, and found marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate." He started passing out the supplies as he continued. "We can't actually roast the marshmallows, but we can pretend."

Quinn grinned as she pulled one out of the bag. Form the corner of her eye she saw also pick up her guitar. "You gonna serenade us?"

Leo nodded. "I found a book on camp songs and memorized a few."

"Let's hear it then!" Austin cheered.

Quinn cousins stop beaming as Leo started playing and she bit into her s'more. It wasn't outside, but it was a fun camp out with her friends. What more could she ask for?

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike:

Jasper admits that he has a crush in Quinn to the others, minus her. Their friends then take it upon themselves to set the two of them up.


	35. Episode 12: Like Me Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XII: Like Me

Chapter One: Jasper's Secret

A/N: Hey guys! So, yesterday I found out I was accepted to my top choice college! I've been so excited, otherwise this would've been done yesterday, lol. Anyways, enjoy!

"You don't find love it finds you. It's got a little bit to do with fate and destiny, fate, and what's written in the stars." -Anaïs Nin

The Rangers were practicing their fighting when they heard the explosion. Jasper released Austin from a head-lock and Leo, Andy, and Chris stopped their three-way spar. The five of them looked at each other, then pushed teleportation buttons on their morphers. They teleported down to the basement and were engulfed in a cloud of smoke upon arrival. Leo coughed and covered her mouth and nose with her shirt. "Quinn!"

Quinn coughed somewhere in the mess. "Hey guys!" There was a crash, followed by a beep. A whirring sound started and all of the smoke started to get sucked up into a fan. The room cleared pretty quick and everyone could see again. Quinn smiled at them.

"What the hell was that?!" Austin demanded.

"Sorry," Quinn apologized. "That was an unfortunate side-effect of a project."

"How come Z isn't down here?" Andy asked.

"Oh, he's just used to things blowing up down here."

"Comforting," Austin nodded.

"Are you ok?" Leo asked her as Quinn dusted herself off. She pulled a couple pieces of metal from her hair.

"Yeah!" Quinn smiled. "Totally!"

"Are you sure?" Jasper asked.

"Positive. You guys can go back to practice."

"Alright," Leo said. She and everyone but Jasper turned to go. Quinn started to turn back to one of her work tables, but then noticed the black ranger watching her.

"Jasper I'm fine," she said.

"Are you sure? You don't...need any help or anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Go with the others."

"Well...ok." Quinn turned away and he stayed another moment, watching her. Unknown to him, Austin saw this and started smiling. As soon as the black ranger started for the stairs, the green ran up them. He ran to the dojo, still grinning mischievously.

"Gutter Punk likes Computer Q!" he sang loudly. Everyone looked at him curiously.

"What?" Andy asked.

"You heard me. Gutter Punk likes Computer Q."

"No way."

"I'm telling you it's true."

"What's true?" Jasper asked, coming in.

"You have the hots for Computer Q," Austin explained, crossing his arms.

"What?! I-I do not!"

"Do to! I saw the way you were looking at her. You like her!"

"Shut up Austin!"

"Boys!" Chris yelled. "Knock it off."

"Not until he admits he likes her!"

Leo sighed. "Jasper, please give him a yes or no so we can get on with our lives."

Jasper rubbed his arm uncomfortably. "Ok fine. Maybe...maybe I have a tiny, little crush on Quinn."

"What?!" Andy asked in disbelief.

"Really?" Chris responded in surprise.

"I knew it!" Austin cheered. "You like her!"

"Are you satisfied now?" Jasper inquired, clearly embarrassed.

"Aww come on man. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Q is brainy. That's your type. I get it."

"Her over-protective dad was also a power ranger," Andy pointed out. "Not someone I would dare mess with."

"Yeah, but Jasper is a ranger too," Chris pointed out. "That might win him some points."

"Can we stop?" Jasper asked. "Alright, so I have a small crush on Quinn. It's no big deal. It's not like she likes me back anyways."

"You don't know that," Leo argued. "No one really knows what's going on in Quinn's head. She could like you."

"Absolutely," Chris agreed.

"Can we just forget about it, please?" Jasper asked.

"Let's get back to practice," Leo said.

-Thunder Strike-

Emperor Stormicon stared into his spear head. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes, the sunstone is still with the Rangers. Soon we will have the perfect weapon to use against them. Tornidon!"

"Yes Sire?" Tornidon asked, bowing. "What can I do for you?"

"Send down a demon to distract the Rangers! I want nothing to interfere with the sunstone!"

"Of course Emperor. I shall go down to the demon room right away."

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn picked up the broken and blackened device that had exploded earlier. She'd thought that the latest device she'd built would be powerful enough to contain the gem stone that Leo had found. She sighed as she examined it. It was currently being contained in a shatter-proof glass case. She removed the case and picked the stone up gently. It shimmered in the light as she turned it over cautiously.

_There's so much power in this, _she thought. So far she's been unable to contain it at all. "There has to be somehting...maybe...that might be the only way." The alarms went off and she put the gem back in the glass case. She hurried over to her computers as the Rangers teleported down.

"What're they up to now?" Chris asked.

"An attack near a shopping plaza," Quinn replied.

"There'll be lot's of civilians," Leo said. "Let's go!"

The Rangers hurried over to their bikes. They started them up and drove out, teleporting down to the battle.

-Thunder Strike-

They found themselves swarmed by Darklings almost as soon as they came out of their teleport. Leo drove straight through a few of them and fired at a group that were attacking civilians. They ran off without looking around at all, clearly to scared to focus on anything but getting away. Leo turned right sharply and drove through several more foot soldiers. She fired again, disintegrating a large groups as they tired to stop a group of shoppers from fleeing. "Let's morph!"

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five Rangers yelled. They morphed and stayed spread out, trying to simultaneously fight and get the civilians to safety.

Andy stopped next to some people who were trapped underneath metal support beams. He looked up at the metal roof the at covered the large sidewalk traveling the length of the plaza. There was a hole in it, which explained the support beams. The strange thing was that the sides of the hole, and the edges of the beams themselves were a glowing, molten red. _That's weird,_ he decided. He ignored it for the movement, and started moving the beams to free the people. "Don't worry, he told them. I'm going to get you out of here!"

Nearby, Austin fired off round after round of blasts to destroy the Darklings holding some of the people. "Get out of here!" he yelled to them, continuing to destroy Darklings so they had a route to escape by. He used his foot to keep himself from falling over as he zig-zagged through their ranks. He took them out in twos and threes as he kept shooting at them.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the plaza, Jasper saw something bright out of the corner of his eye. It definitely stood out against the dark grey coloring of the Darklings. He saw a feminine looking demon that appeared to be made of fire standing in front of a little girl. The girl screamed and cowered away from the demon, who pointed her hands at the metal roof. Molten fire shot out of them and a second later the black ranger could hear the snapping of the metal support beams. He drove straight for the girl, snaking around the demon as he did. He passed her and reached down, grabbing her arm. He jerked her in front of him onto his storm chaser. Her heard the beams fall and looked back. They'd landed right where she'd just been. He let her down and turned back to face the demon.

"Get out of here," he told her. "Go on! Run!" The girl nodded and ran with the few straggling civilians. He looked at the demon, then just barely had time to bail off his bike to avoid getting his head roasted. He heard her laughing at him.

"Jasper!" Chris yelled. She drove up next to him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm- look out!" He jumped up and tackled Chris off her bike before the next fireball hit her. It did hit her bike though, setting it on fire. One of Jasper's feet unfortunately was too close and he felt it burn under his ranger suit. "Ah!"

"Jasper!"

"My foot."

"I thought the suits were fire proof."

"They are, but I don't think that stops the heat from burning us."

Chris looked at her storm chaser, still on fire. "Her fire is hot."

"Hey, watch it you two!" Austin snapped. He drove it in front of them, then dove off his bike. It worked as a shield as the next fire ball hit it. "This is no time for talking!" He took his blaster from its holster and started firing. The demon simply raised her hand and shot fire at the blasts. They collided and exploded in the air. "Well that worked well."

"Hahaha!" the demon laughed. "You Rangers are no match for me! My fire can burn as bright as the sun!" As if to prove her point, she raised her hand and all three of the fires burning near the Rangers suddenly got a lot bigger. The Rangers all yelled, trying to shield themselves. The bikes apparently couldn't stand the heat and exploded. The three Rangers de-morphed from the close shockwaves. Flamitora laughed as she raised her hand again.

"Guys!" Leo shouted. She drove at Flamitora, drawing her attention. The demon changed targets quickly and shot the red ranger with a fire ball. Leo shrieked and lost control of her bike. She fell over and her leg got trapped beneath her storm chaser.

"Leo!" the others yelled. Austin managed to get up and ran to help her. Andy meanwhile was shooting at Falmitora and riding around in random patterns to avoid getting bar-b-qued. The green ranger reached Leo and saw that she was unconscious. Jasper knelt next to him.

"You pull her out, I'll free her," the black ranger said. He braced himself and lifted the burning bike as Austin pulled Leo out. "Got her?"

"Yup!"

Jasper let the bike drop and he and Austin picked Leo up. He saw a fire hydrant and an idea came to him. "Take her!" he shouted, running off.

"What- oh!" Austin stumbled as he took Leo's weight. She opened her eyes and he politely set her down. She hissed and clung to him.

"Nope, can't stand," she said weakly.

"Don't worry Holy Smackdown," he smiled. "I got you."

Jasper meanwhile, hopped on Andy's storm chaser while the white ranger helped Chris up. "Hey!" he yelled.

"I'm just borrowing it!" Jasper yelled back as he rode off. He banked to the side to avoid being roasted again and fired at the hydrant. He hit it dead on and water started spraying at Flamitora. She shrieked as it sprayed on her.

"Cursed Rangers! I'll be back!" She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a black funnel cloud.

"Everyone ok?!" Leo yelled as she half limped, half draped over Austin.

"I-I think so," Chris replied.

Leo pushed the communication button on her morpher. "Quinn? Can you teleport us back?"

"You got it!" Quinn replied. "Z get the fire extinguisher!"

"Some sentences you just didn't expect to hear," Andy said.

"Got that right," Austin laughed as they teleported out.


	36. Episode 12: Like Me Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XII: Like Me

Chapter Two: Insecure Black

A/N: Happy 2016 one and all! What a great year this was! I can personally say that I've had a very dynamic year that has changed me a lot, and I am definitely not the person I was on this day one year ago. Here's to hoping this year is good for us all! Enjoy my first update of the new year.

"You don't find love it finds you. It's got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what's written in the stars." -Anaïs Nin

As soon as they were back Quinn helped Austin take some of Leo's weight. The red ranger grimaced as they helped her get up the stairs. Z quickly extinguished the on fire bikes, shaking his head in disbelief. "Quinn's going to have to fix those."

"Well we all know none of us are going to do it," Andy remarked as he helped Chris stand. The blue ranger's clothes were singed, much like Jasper and Austin's.

"All of you go upstairs for first aid," Z instructed. "Now."

Andy nodded and he and Chris followed Jasper upstairs. They went into the living room and found Leo was sitting with her foot on the center table. Quinn was gently applying cream to the leg, which was burned from the toes to the knee. Austin was doing the same to his own arms and chest. "Got room for more?" Chris asked as she sat down next to Leo.

"Always," Leo replied cheerfully. Jasper sat on the arm of the love seat next to Austin. He started looking himself over for any sever burns. He got to his hasn't and just stared. He hadn't noticed before with the adrenaline, but they were pretty badly burned from when he'd lifted Leo's storm chaser.

Quinn saw the black ranger staring at his hands. "That was really brave."

"Huh?" Jasper asked, looking up at her.

"Getting Leo out from under the storm chaser. It was really brave."

Leo nodded. "You weren't even morphed. Thanks."

Jasper smiled a little. "It's no trouble." Quinn flashed him a grin and went back to helping Leo. The black ranger watched her, not really noticing anything else. Austin saw him and smirked. Andy shook his head in a puzzled sort of way. The most oblivious person in the room seemed to be Quinn. Even Chris was smiling. Leo was awkwardly fiddling with the edge of her skirt. Chris wondered how Quinn could stay so oblivious when it was obvious that Jasper was staring at her.

Quinn finished bandaging Leo's leg and nodded in satisfaction. "Never say I haven't learned anything in here."

"I definitely wouldn't," Jasper said.

"I better go make sure no more bikes are in danger of exploding." Quinn left, running back towards the basement.

"You know," Austin remarked as he handed the burn ointment to Andy. The white ranger was the one who'd come out of the fight the least injured. He wasn't burned at all. He saw Jasper's hands though, and got up so he could put it on his friend.

"You should just tell her," Chris suggested as she applied the ointment to herself.

"No, I shouldn't," Jasper said.

"You totally should," Austin argued. "You never know, Computer Q might actually like you back."

"What do you think Andy?"

"I think asking the guy who hates romance and has no interest in it is like asking a fish how to walk on land," Andy replied as he gently dabbed the ointment onto the red and blistered skin of Jasper's hands. "But, if Chris and Austin agree on something, well I guess it can't be all that bad."

"I-I wouldn't even know what to say. Besides, what we she see in a guy like me?"

"She already thinks you're brave," Leo pointed out. She adjusted herself, wincing slightly as she moved her inured leg.

"And you're smart," Chris added. "And Quinn is smart. What's the saying, birds of feather?"

"Please," Jasper scoffed. "Ah!"

"Sorry," Andy apologized.

"Besides, her dad is one of the greatest power rangers in the universe. She lives in a mansion. She's a brilliant genius."

"So is Leo, but she likes you," Austin said.

"Not in that way!" Leo amended quickly.

"My point is," Jasper continued, giving the green ranger a 'stop-interrupting-me' look, "why would a girl like Quinn be even remotely interested in a guy like me? I fix old MacBooks and think pads for money to buy school supplies. I come from a family that's been on food stamps since before I was born. Me and Quinn aren't even on the same level. Any kind of level." No one said anything for a minute.

"Jasper-" Chris began, but he waved her off, pulling his hands away before Andy could finish wrapping them in bandages.

"Hey!" the white ranger snapped. "I'm almost done, hold still."

"I'm fine, Andy. I don't need your help." Jasper got up and walked out of the room, painfully trying to finish the job of wrapping his hands.

Austin shook his head as he left. "Poor guy. He has no self-esteem."

"Jasper has a self-esteem," Chris started, but the green ranger just shook his head.

"He really doesn't though. I mean, he's always putting himself done like that. He does realize he's a badass, right? Holy Smackdown, back me up here."

"Uh..." Leo didn't quite know how to respond to Austin.

"Ok, I have an idea," Chris said. "Andy, Austin, you guys go talk to Jasper. Try to give him some confidence."

"Again, fish walking on land," Andy replied.

"What're you going to do?" Austin asked.

"Leo and I are going to talk to Quinn. Clearly she has no idea what's going on, so we need to try and see what she thinks of Jasper."

"A little bit of ranger match-making." Austin grinned mischievously. "I love it!"

"Oh boy," Andy muttered.

"Let's get to work then," Chris said, helping Leo to her feet.

-Thunder Strike-

The two girls made their way down stairs; well Leo more limped than anything. She had an arm draped over Chris as they made their way down the stairs. They got done them one at a time until they reached the basement. Quinn didn't even look up as she continued whatever she was doing. They made their way over and Chris helped Leo sit on a stool. Quinn was sitting cross-legged on the ground, blacked pieces of metal scattered around her. She had tools spread out next to her and was working on wiring something in her hands.

"Where's Z?" Chris asked.

"I sent him away," Quinn replied, still not looking up from her project.

"What're you doing?"

"Starting to rebuild the storm chasers. We're going to need them and right now only two people have functional ones."

"Two?"

Quinn nodded, gesturing momentarily to the only two bikes still parked unit their usual spots. "Andy's wasn't damaged at all, and Leo's was just badly burned. We a managed to put the fire out before it exploded. The rest of yours have to rebuilt from scratch."

"How long will that take?" Leo inquired, mind trying to grasp how much work that would be for their tech genius.

"A few weeks."

"That's a long time."

"Well they need to be rebuilt from scratch."

Chris and Leo looked at each other. The blue ranger cleared her throat. Quinn didn't react. "So, Quinn, do you mind if we stay down here and...talk?"

"No, by all means stay. I always enjoy the company."

"Alright." Chris leaned against a table next to where Leo sat.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Um...boys," Leo said quietly.

Quinn started chuckling. "Boys? Did I just hear Leo say boys?"

"Yeah," Chris confirmed. "You did. We never have girl talk. The three of us."

"Is that what girls talk about? Boys?"

"Yeah, I mean, for the most part."

"Ok. What exactly about them?"

Chris shrugged. "Anything. For instance, what kind of boys you find attractive. I like fair haired guys personally. Organized, intelligent, uses common sense, likes dance. Maybe a dancer themselves. What about you Leo?"

Leo looked shocked at the question. "Oh...I've never really thought about boys. I mean I'm always practicing my music and it wasn't proper for me to be alone with one."

"Well of you had to pick qualities for a partner, what would they be?"

"I...I don't know. Someone who appreciates music for sure I guess. Not necessarily a musician. Maybe a composer or conducter. Godly as well. Compassionate. Compassion is important. Someone who understands the word of God. Creative I guess. I love creativity."

Quinn nodded. "Sounds like a real winner."

"How about you Quinn?" Chris asked.

"Um...I'm not sure. Smart I guess. Someone who can attempt to keep up with me on some level. Brave too. Kind. Noble. A good sense of humor. Good moral compass. Someone I can spar with."

"Sounds...promising." Chris caught Leo's eye and smiled. Sounded like Jasper to them. "How about anything you don't like?"

"The opposite of everything I just said." Quinn said it like it was obvious. She got up and walked over to Leo's storm chaser. She started wiring the piece in. "Was that it?"

"Well do you have any questions for us? About dating or romance or somehting?"

"I don't really know a lot about that," Leo reminded Chris.

Quinn stopped for a minute, like she was contemplating somehting. If Chris didn't know any better, she would've said that their friend looked unsure of herself. It was a good thing she knew better. Finally she said, "How do you gets someone's attention. If you like them that way but you're not sure if they like you?"

Chris gave Leo a grin, which the red ranger managed to return. "Well," the blue ranger said. "You could always ask up front."

"And that's ok? A direct approach? Even if it's a close friend?" Another shared grin.

"With a close friend, maybe a less direct approach."

"Perhaps, letting them make the first move," Leo suggested.

"But what if you don't think they will?" Quinn asked, still working on the bike. "What then?"

"Oh they probably will. Give it...a few weeks," Chris replied. "If they don't then you go ahead and make the first move."

Quinn nodded. "Ok, got it."

Chris and Leo shared yet another look. _Boy do we have news for Jasper._

-Thunder Strike-

Meanwhile, Austin and Andy made their way upstairs to Jasper's room. Andy was about to knock on his door when Austin turned the knob and walked in. Jasper, who was sitting at the Winona bench near the back, turned around. "Please just come right in."

"Thanks," Austin replied as he approached his friend. "Don't mind if we do."

"I want to be alone you know." Jasper turned back to look out the window.

"Why? So you can brood and moan about how Quinn will never love you?"

"Shut up."

Austin leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Come on dude. You don't really believe that, do you?"

"What else am I supposed to think? Girls like her...they've never even given guys like me the time of day."

"Let me stop you there," Andy said, "there are no girls like Quinn. She's definitely one of a kind."

"Putting her more out of my reach."

"Come on, Jasper," Austin moaned. "Now we all know that you're w wonderful person

You're intelligent. Hardworking."

"Trustworthy," Andy put it from where he'd sat down on the other end of the bench. "Brave."

"But I'm just Jasper," the black ranger sighed. "She's Quinn. She lives in this opulent house and I slept on a couch for five years."

"Money? Seriously, you think money, separates you two?" Austin sorted. "Take it from me, money does not buy happiness. Or love. Two things you will never find in my opulent house. Four cars and some damn fancy silver. But laughter? As if. Gutter Rat have got to stop letting the fact that you're pour stop you."

"That's easy for you to say!"

"Maybe it is! Maybe it's easy for me to say that love matters more then money because I grew up with one and without one. Same as you. Just opposite ones."

"Jasper," Andy said, testing his chin on his knee. "Quinn wasn't raised in the outside world. In case you didn't notice, she doesn't have conventional ideas. Something like class...or anything like that isn't going to stop her."

"But more importantly, you need to know that you are amazing. You are worthy of anyone. And take it from me, if your base a relationship off social status and class, you're setting the stage for a pretty shallow and unstable relationship."

Jasper sighed. "You really think so?"

"From personal experience, I know so. No thinking about it."

The black ranger glanced out the window and over the wall. His heart pining for the confidence to tell Quinn.

-Thunder Strike-

Blizzitor growled in frustration as he watched Flamitora's picture reforming on the wall of the demon room. "This is taking too long!"

"We're using as much chaotic energy as we can to fix her," Hurricous reminded him.

"So when will she be done?!" Tornidon demanded.

"Soon." Hurricous nodded as the last of the picture filled in. "Excellent." He tapped his spear to the wall. "Chaotic energy, give this demon life!" He stepped back as Flmaitora spiraled off the wall.

"Gah!" she yelled. "Those pathetic Rangers!"

"Better not let something like that happen again," Tornidon warned her. "You're supposed to be keeping the, busy!"

"Oh believe me." Flamitora held out her hand and shot a fireball at the wall. She created a hole, which quickly repaired itself. "Those Rangers will pay. Especially the black one!"


	37. Episode 12: Like Me Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XII: Like Me

Chapter Three: Jasper and Quinn

A/N: Hey guys! How you're ready for the next chapter!

"You don't find love it finds you. It's got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what's written in the stars." -Anaïs Nin

The alarms went off and the boys all jumbled to their feet. "Uh, dude," Austin's aid, grabbing Jasper's wrist. He held up the back ranger's bandaged hand and shook it a little.

"We both know that won't matter once I'm morphed," Jasper pointed out. Austin considered it, then nodded in agreement.

"Yeah you got a point." The three of them teleported down to the basement where Quinn was already at her computers with Chris and Leo standing behind her.

"The fire demon is back," she told them. She nodded to footage she'd pulled up from a traffic camera. Falmitora was firing at cars as people ran away screaming.

"Let's go extinguish her," Andy said.

"Did you really just say that?" Leo asked him as she started limping towards her newly repaired storm chaser.

"I did, and where do you think you're going?"

"I can fight."

"You can barely walk."

"I'll stay on my storm chaser."

"Leo-"

"We don't have time to argue! I'm going and that's that." The Rangers followed her and she and Andy got on their bikes.

"We clearly don't have enough chasers for five people," Austin pointed out. Chris shrugged and simply sat behind Leo on her bike. Jasper and Austin both ran to Andy, but the green ranger got there first. "Haha!" he laughed as he got on behind the white ranger.

"See you on the other side," Andy smiled. The four Rangers drove out and teleported down to the battle.

Jasper sighed, and checked his morpher, seeing that Quinn had sent him the coordinates. He pushed the teleport buttons and teleported himself down to the battle. _I hope she gets our storm chasers fixed soon._

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper's feet touched down on the scene of the battle and his hair almost caught on fire. He ducked and rolled to the side to avoid betting roasted. He saw Flamitora and she saw him. Her flaming yellow eyes seemed to glow. "Black Ranger!"

"Oh great, you know my name," Jasper muttered. He glanced around out of the corner of his eyes, but he didn't see the others. _Where are they?_

"You shall pay for what you did!" She pointed her hands at him and several fire balls shot in his direction. Jasper scrambled to his feet and started running. He dodged left and right.

"Quinn!" he hissed, pushing the communication button. "Where are the others?!"

"They got a little side-tracked by Darklings," Quinn replied. "No worries though, just keep the demon busy until they get there."

"Oh, ok. Just keep the crazy fire demon busy. No problem."

"Great!"

Jasper threw himself to the side as a fireball exploded next to him. He noticed that he had several small fires on his clothes and quickly patted them out. He sighed as he stood to face the demon. "Guess I have to fight you on my own." He held up his morpher. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING! Black cloud ranger!" He started firing with his blaster, running in a large circle around Flamitora to try and catch her off guard. This didn't work very well though, and she matched his blasts with fire balls.

She fired at him again, and Jasper had to weave his way around them. He ran at her, only to pull back because of the flames. Flamitora laughed. "I'm done playing games with you." She raised her hand above her head and shot a column of flames in to the sky. Jasper fell back as he raised his head to look at it.

_Oh this really can't be good, _he thought. He watched as the fire came down and formed a flaming dome around him and Flmaitora. The other rangers arrived and gasped at what they saw.

"Jasper!" Leo yelled in concern.

"We need to find a way in!" Andy said.

Jasper meanwhile was getting to his feet. He could feel the heat coming off the red and orange dome surrounding him.

"Now there's no where for you to run!" Flamitora told him. She fried at him again and he ran to the side to avoid it.

"You trapped me in here? Not a smart move," the black ranger replied. "Cloud maces!" He hit one fireball to the side with one of his maces, then hit a second one away with the other. Unfortunately there was also a third one that hit him in the chest. He fell backward and yelled in pain. He rolled to the side, abandoning his weapons as he did.

Jasper looked at his morpher and saw that Quinn had recently added a new feature. A rectangle that was split into five sections on the face of his morpher. Currently there were three sections filled with dark purple light. _Those must be chaotic energy levels._ He smiled as an idea came to him. But he needed her to create more chaotic energy. He ran back to his cloud maces and snatched them up. He threw them at Flamitora. She tried to engulf them in fire, but they weren't flammable. The spun through her, but didn't seem to hurt her at all.

She fired at Jasper again and he threw himself to the ground. The balls absorbed I not the dome behind him. He jumped up as his cloud maces came back to him. He caught them and ran at her, feigning a closer attack. She fired at him but he kept avoiding her blasts. She hit his hand and he dropped his cloud maces in shock. "Ah!" She fire again and he swung his remaining mace at it, but missed. It hit him in the chest and he yelled again. He looked at his morpher and saw that the energy levels had gone up another section.

_At this right I'll be burnt to a crisp by the time the levels are full, _he thought. He started backing up, glancing quickly back at his morpher. He needed the demon to keep using her powers. He threw his maces again, and they soared through her yet again. She hit him in the chest with fireballs and the black ranger was throw backwards into the dome. He yelled in pain and quickly rolled away from it.

"Looks like you aren't able to do anything," Flamitora gloated as she approached him.

"You can do it Jasper!" Quinn told him. "I know you can."

Jasper smiled and pushed himself to his feet. "Wrong. I can do this." He took his newest dog tag and put it in his morpher. "Super Storm, Upgrade!" He morphed into his super storm mode and smiled as he gripped his weapon. "The rumbling cloud, super storm black!"

"New weapons can't help you here, Ranger!" Flamitora smirked. She shit two fire balls at him, but he blocked them with his shield.

He ran at her and jumped up. "Cloud storm defender!" he yelled as case down and hit her with his shield. She stumbled back as he hit her. He fired from the shield and hit her in the chest. She raised her hands again and created a shield out of fire. Their shields met and Jasper fired on her. She fell back and he raised his shield up in the air. He started firing his blasts, destroying the fire dome separating from his friends. They ran in, Leo on longer on her bike.

"You ok?" Andy asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Let's get powered up," Leo told them. The other three nodded.

"Super storm, upgrade!" they yelled as they inserted their tags into their morphers.

"The raging downpour, super storm red!" Leo yelled.

"The howling wind, super storm blue!" Chris shouted.

"The freezing snow, super storm white!" Andy shouted.

"The erratic lightning, super storm green!" Austin yelled.

"Let's put this demon out once and for all!" Jasper told them.

"Thunder storm crosser!"

"Wind storm claw!"

"Lightning storm axe!"

"Cloud storm defender!"

"Ice storm striker!"

Leo handed the weapon to Jasper. "Here," she said as she did.

"What- me?" Jasper asked, closing his hands slowly around the weapon.

"Definitely. Go for it."

The black ranger nodded. "I won't let you down!" He lifted the weapon into a ready position. Leo placed a hand on one of his shoulders, and Chris pleaded one on his other. Andy put his hand on Chris' shoulder and Austin put his on Leo's.

"Super storm striker, ready!" the Rangers yelled. "Fire!" Jasper pulled the trigger and the multi-colored blast spiraled at the demon.

"No, no!" she yelled as the blast hit her and she exploded in a ball of fire.

"We put her out!" Austin smiled as he gave Jasper a high-five.

"We're not done yet," Jasper reminded him. Sure enough, Flamitora came back in a giant funnel cloud.

"I'm going to burn your entire city to the ground!" she yelled.

"Thunder zords, activate!"

"Thunder hawk Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder tiger Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder bobcat Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder fox Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder falcon Zord, powered up!"

"Thunder Strike Megazord!"

Flmaitora wasted no time engulfing the Megazord in flames. The Rangers quickly tried to move away. The Megazord spun around to put out the flames. It tired to blast her, but they weren't strong enough to break through her fireballs she stopped him with. She threw a few at the Megazord, making it stumble back with the force of the explosion. The Rangers worked quickly to keep it standing.

"Ok, anyone have any ideas?" Austin asked.

"We can't use the storm chasers," Andy pointed out. He was thrown bald wards with the other Rangers as the Megazord stumbled under another onslaught of fireballs.

Jasper winced as he was thrown into his console again. He knew that they were in trouble. If they didn't find a way to up the power soon, they were going to find themselves roasted along with the zords. He closed his eyes and tired to think, almost drowning out the chaos of the battle around him. For a second, his mind wandered to Quinn. He wanted her to see him as a hero. Maybe it would make him more like able to her. _But Quinn already thinks we're heroes,_ he reminded himself sternly. _She already likes us...I know she at least thinks of me as a friend._

He nodded to himself. He didn't have anything to prove. Because he'd already done ten times over, at least in the eyes of the person who really mattered. Jasper gasped as he felt a strange sense flowing through him. He raised his hands off his controls, causing the others to look at him in confusion. He raised his hands up in front of his face and interlocked his fingers. "Super storm Zord, arise!" he shouted, thrusting his hands forward.

The Megazord turned a little bit and watched as a bust of golden light appeared overhead, with a new Zord appearing out of it.

"Holy shit!" Austin shouted. "How- how-"

"Did you just...summon that?!" Andy demanded.

"Quinn do you see this!?" Leo asked.

"I do," Quinn replied. "It's...I didn't build that."

Jasper smiled at the new Zord. It was rugged black dog. The dog seemed to run across the air, jumping at Flamitora and biting her. This caused her to drop the fireballs she'd been ready to throw at the Megazord. They exploded at her feet and made her stumble, but didn't seem to hurt the Zord at all. It ran to the Megazord and jumped; disassembling as it did. The head came off and fit like a helmet of the head of the Megazord. The body split in half and the two legs in each side straightened out. The Megazord grabbed the new weapons and twirled them around like two bo staffs.

"Thunder Canine Megazord!" the Rangers yelled.

"Jasper, I don't know what you did," Chris told him. "But I like it."

Jasper smiled. "Let's take her down!"

Flamotira threw three more fireballs at the Megazord. It reacted by hitting home away with its new weapons. It spun them and alternated hands as the fireballs were hit into the ground where they exploded harmlessly. It threw one of the weapons, making it spin end over end. It hit Flmaitora in the head and she gasped in pain. The Megazord caught the weapon as it returned. It advanced on the demon, striking her twice with each if the sticks.

"This new Zord is powerful!" Austin smiled.

Jasper nodded he noticed another new tag hanging off his chain. He took it off and inserted it into the final slot. "Let's finish this!" He saw a new button starting to glow and pushed it. The Rangers saw the same in their own controls and copied him. They all flipped the fourth switch.

"Cloud canine strikes!" They yelled as the Megazord flew up unit the air and came down in front of Flamitora. It spun the sticks and whipped time across her body, sending her flying backwards.

"No!" she yelled. "I won't be-" and she exploded in a large ball of fire.

"Yes!" Jasper cheered.

"Excellent work," Leo agreed as the high-fives got to her. Jasper looked back at her and she gave him an affirming nod and a thumbs up.

The black ranger grinned. "The storm has passed!" he yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

Quinn sat back in her chair and smiled. "Another crisis successfully averted." She frowned a second later though. "Where did that Zord come from? I didn't build it. So what could've happened?"

-Thunder Strike-

Later on that evening, Jasper made his way down to the basement. He could feel his anxiety fluttering its way through his chest. He saw Quinn sitting at at work table, dutifully working away at a new gadget. He cleared his throat. "Uh...Quinn?"

Quinn turned around. "Hey Jasper. Greta job today. That Zord you summoned was just what you guys needed."

"Thanks. I'm not really sure how I did that."

"That makes two of us."

"Um...I didn't come done here to talk about the Zord."

"You didn't?"

"No. I came down her because I have...something I want to tell you."

"Ok. Go ahead."

Jasper took a deposit breath, trying to draw on the courage and confidence he'd felt in the Megazord. "I like you Quinn. And not just as a friend. In a...more than a friend sort of way."

"You...do?"

"Yeah I do."

Quinn stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I see."

"You see?"

"Yes."

Jasper waited for her to say more. "So...do you like me back?"

Quinn's faced chnaged in an instant. "Jasper, I'm sorry. You're a great guy. Not that I have an comparison, but you're a great guy."

"Just not great enough for you?"

"No! That's not it at all. I just don't like you like that. Or boys in general."

Jasper nodded then stopped. He blinked and looked at Quinn slowly. "You don't like boys?"

"No, sorry. If I did I'm sure I'd like you. But you're not my...Theo I guess."

"You don't like boys."

"Nope. Never have."

"How do you know?"

"Well I've had crushes on characters in books and they were always girls. So I figured..." She shrugged.

"Ok. I see."

"Are you ok? You look a little shocked."

"Well I am. I mean...you just told me that you are attacked to girls."

Quinn shrugged. "So? Why should that be such a big shock? Would it make it more real if I said I have a crush on someone on the team?"

"You- what? Who?!" There were only two possibilities and he had a sneaking sucpicion.

Quinn smiled bashfully. "Leo."

"Leo. You have a crush on Leo?"

"Yup."

"Our red ranger, Leo? Our conservative, Christian leader?"

"Yes that's still her."

Jasper blinked again. "And you don't think that might be a problem?"

Quinn shook her head. "No. Why would it be?"

Jasper thought she was joking at first. But then he saw the look of confusion on her face and it hit him. Quinn really didn't know. Everything she knew about the world came from textbooks. He was pretty sure this wasn't something taught in school a lot. He knew he should tell her. Before she got hurt. Before Leo got hurt. But something stopped him. Even if Quinn wasn't interested in him romacitally, she was still his friend. And he didn't know if he had the courage to tell her. "You know what, forget it. Just forget it."

"Ok."

"I'm going to...go upstairs now. You can go back to whatever you were doing before."

"Alright. And Jasper?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you not tell Leo what I told you? At least until I know if she likes me back."

Jasper found himself nodding. "Yeah, I'll do that."

Quinn grinned. "Thanks. You're the best!"

"Uh huh." Jasper went upstairs and waited until he'd shut the basement door to start running. He pretty much took the stairs two at a time and headed straight for the person he thought could provide him with some helpful information. He barged into Andy's room and quickly shut the door behind him. "We have a situation."

"What's up?" Andy asked.

Austin was sitting on the edge of the white ranger's desk. He looked at Jasper strangely. "You ok?"

"No, I'm not. Quinn doesn't like me."

"Well Athena bummer."

"Because she likes Leo!"

"What?!" Andy and Austin demanded.

"Leo? As in...our Leo?" Andy asked.

"Yeah. But that's not even the worst part. I asked her if she thought that might be a problem and she had no idea what I was talking about!"

Austin frowned. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! She looked totally confused. She had no idea what so ever."

Andy shook his head. "I'm not surprised. Quinn has a very rudimentary understanding of the world. You can't get everything for textbooks."

"So you're telling me," Austin said, "that the smartest person in this house, the smartest one I've ever met, doesn't know what homophobia is?"

"Apparently not."

"What're we going to do?" Jasper asked them.

"You mean you didn't tell her?!" Andy demanded.

"How could I tell her?! You explain to me how you explain to your friend that idea that it's wrong for her to have a crush on her best friend because they're both girls. How do you even begin explains that?"

"Well she can't just not know! Especially since it's Leo!"

"Hod on a second," Austin interrupted. "You guys are assuming that Leo is homophonic. She might not be."

"I know her church definitely is," Andy replied sadly. "If her parents go there they probably are too. And Leo..."

"She's the least judgmental person I've ever met. There's no way."

"If it's the way she was raised its not something she probably thinks about." He looked at Jasper. "Which is what you should've told Quinn."

"I just couldn't do it," Jasper sighed. "To tell her something like that, it would crush her."

"So what do we do?" Austin asked.

Andy sighed. "Alright, here's what's going to happen. We're not going to say a word of this to anyone. Quinn might not even act on her feelings. It's a crush, it'll probably go away. And it's not our place to say how Leo could react. The odds aren't stacked in our favor...but you never know. I've met some pretty open-minded people to come out of bigoted households."

Jasper nodded. "Sounds good. For now, we do nothing. And say nothing."

Austin also nodded. "Damn. I thought the demons would be the shed part of all of this."

"I know what you mean."

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn yawned as she kept working. She didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was late. She finished turning the last screw and ate her screwdriver down. She secured the device to her wrist to make sure that it stayed steady. It was a simple strap that had a circular metal disk on top with prongs to hold the sunstone. She reached out and removed the gem stone from it's case. She carefully placed it on the metal disc. Making sure she kept her left hand immobile, she reached out with her right and picked up the screwdriver again.

She started reaching under the stone. She accidentally lifted a wire she didn't mean to and connected it to another one. She dropped the screwdriver and jumped to her feet as the stone started to glow. "What-" For a second it felt like fire was rolling through her and then it was gone. She fell on she knees in shock. She looked at her wrist, only to discover that the stone and device were gone. Her wrist was bare! She started searching the area, soon expanding it to the entire room. But both were nowhere to be found. She sighed as she stood with her arms crossed. She rubbed the wrist that had held the device unconsciously.

"What just happened?" she asked herself. She looked worriedly at her now empty wrist. "What did I just do?"

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time on Power Rangers Thunder Strike:

Everyone in the house starts to get tired of Chris and Austin fighting, and wish that they could just get along. They learn to be careful what they wish for when a monster makes the two fall in love with each other.


	38. Episode 13: Opposites Attract Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIII: Opposites Attract

Chapter One: Constant Fighting

A/N: Hey guys! I'm finally back now that finals are over and my new semester is starting. Have you guys heard I the next power ranger season? Power Rangers Ninja Steel! I'm...optimistic after how well Dino Charge is going...knock on wood. Anyways, enjoy the story!

"We can't control the filters others use when they look at us." - Rachel Wolchin

Quinn sat on Leo's bed, idly fiddling with something while she listened to the red ranger playing. She looked up when the song finished and nodded. "I like it."

"You do?" Leo inquired uncertainly.

"Yeah. Why, you don't?"

The red ranger hesitated. "Not really."

"Why not?"

Leo studied the song she'd been writing. "It's just-"

"Austin!" Chris yelled from somewhere.

"Oh no."

"Oh boy," Quinn said at the same time. They whet to her door and Leo pulled it open. She saw Austin running around the hall in random directions. He had something in his hands and Chris was clearly trying to get whatever it was form him.

"Austin give it back!"

"Make me Princess!" the green ranger yelled back. Jasper and Andy came around the corner, from their own rooms presumably, to see what was going on.

Leo left the safety of her doorway and got between them. "Both of you stop! Now!" Austin and Chris backed off, but they kept glaring at each other from ether side of her. "What's going on-" She flinched and jumped a little as they both started yelling at once. Andy sighed and walked towards them.

"Quiet!" he snapped. "First of all, you guys are scaring Leo. Again. Second, is the yelling really necessary?"

Leo claimed her nerves and looked at ether of them again. "Let me rephrase my question. Chris, in a quieter voice, what happened?"

"Austin came into my room and took somehting-" Chris began but Austin interrupted her.

"So she threw me into a fucking wall!" he yelled.

"If you don't want to get thrown into walls then don't take things that don't belong to you!"

"I was borrowing it!"

"Borrowing means you have permission idiot!"

"You wouldn't have even noticed that it was gone if you hadn't caught me!"

"Do you even hear yourself?!"

"Whoa!" Quinn yelled, now joining the fray. "Stop yelling!"

Leo sighed. "Seriously. Why do you guys have to fight so much?"

Jasper shook his head in an amused way when this sent off a new round of shouting and insulting. He shared a look with Andy and they nodded. The two of them grabbed Austin by his arms and dragged him away. They managed to get the door to his room open and pulled him inside, shutting the door.

"Get the fuck off me!" the green ranger snapped, throwing them off. "What the hell?!"

"We could ask you the same thing," Jasper replied. "You do realize that five other people live here besides you two right? Some of us get tired of listening to your constant arguing!"

"Well if she would stop acting like she's in charge of me or something, then maybe I wouldn't fight with her so much."

Andy and Jasper sighed and headed for the door. "Just stay away from her," Andy said as Jasper opened the door. "Ok? Stay in here, go to the library, go do some fighting practice. Just stay away from Chris. Got it?"

Austin scoffed. "Whatever." He turned his back to them and they knew the conversation was over. They left and found Quinn and Leo were where they'd left them.

"Where's Chris?"

"In her room," Leo replied. "She's cooling-off."

"Yeah well they both need to," Jasper replied. "This is their second fight today."

"They're always fighting, what do you expect?" Andy asked. "I don't even think they know how to get along with each other."

Quinn nodded in agreement. "I understand having their differences, but this is getting kind of ridiculous."

"I'm sure they'll figure something out," Leo said. "They can't just...hate each other the entire time. Right?"

"I don't know," Andy replied. "Chris and Austin each seem like the type of hold a grudge."

Jasper nodded pat the red ranger on the back. "Unfortunately not everyone is as open-minded and kind as you, Leo."

"Well they need to figure it how to be. Because I don't know how much more of their arguing I can take." Everyone nodded idly and he sighed. "Well, I'm going back to writing."

Jasper nodded and followed him, heading back to his own room as well. Leo shrugged and turned for her room and Quinn followed. "It's strange, don't you think?"

"What?" Quinn asked.

"They're always fighting, but none of us really know why they hate each other so much."

"I don't think they hate each other. They're just...not that compatible."

"Still. I just wish they'd get along."

"Don't we all."

-Thunder Strike-

Inside the cloud palace, Emperor Stormicon nodded as he looked into the cloud on his staff. "Yes. The sun stone has been activivated. It's still needs some time to be fully operational though." He looked around the throne room. All three of his generals were off doing various tasks. Blizzitor walked and noticed that emperor was staring intently at his staff.

"Sire?" he asked. "Is everything alright?"

Stormicon nodded. "The sun stone has been activated."

"That's good then. Your plan will be set in motion soon, I assume?"

"Yes. Whatever human it has attacked itself to is giving it access to a great power source." He smiled at the ice demon. "This plan will go better then even I could've anticipated."

"Then it shall be great indeed."

"Send down a demon to keep the Rangers occupied! I want nothing to get it the way of the sun stone finishing it's callibrations."

Blizzitor nodded. "Yes Sire." He bowed. "It shall be done." He left and headed down to the demon room. The number of demons that appeared on its walls had slowed down in the last couple weeks since the Rangers had gotten their newest toy. He studied the walls, searching for a demon he thought could provide the means to procure more chaotic energy and keep the Rangers unaware of the emperor's plan. He spotted on a little farther up on the wall. "My studies of the humans from this dimension show me that this demon is perfect."

He pointed his snowflake staff at the picture. "Chaotic energy, give this demon life!" He felt the evil energy travel through the staff and into the picture. The dark clouds spiraled off the wall and deposited the demon in front of Blizzitor. It had dark red skin and a quiver of arrows on its back. It's eyes were a startling pink and shaped like hearts. It's back also had black wings with gold stripes on them. It carried a bow in one hand as well. Blizzitor nodded. "Very good. Attack the city. Raise some chaos for the emperor."

"Of course Sir," the demon nodded. "I shall do what I can!"

-Thunder Strike-

"Austin!" Chris yelled, causing Jasper and Andy to moan.

"I thought we separated them!" Jasper exclaimed, still browsing books in the library.

"Clearly they found each other again," Andy said, not looking up from what he was writing. "They're like magnets."

"If only they could be the kind that repel each other."

Andy nodded. "Do you think Quinn could invent anything that will make them get along with each other?"

"I wouldn't put anything past her. She specializes in impossible."

"Chris and Austin not wanting to tear each other's throats out would definitely classify as that." The alarms went off and both boys stood up. They heard running footsteps, signifying Quinn heading down to the basement. "Hopefully they can take their aggression out on some demons."

They pushed the teleportation buttons on their morphers and teleported down to the basement. Leo and Chris joined them a second later. Austin joined them last. The red, black, and white Rangers took the initiative to stand between the blue and the green to keep them from so much as making eye contact with each other. "What's going on?" Leo asked.

"There's Darklings in the city," Quinn explained. "Possibly more demons."

"Let's get down there!" The Rangers headed to their storm chasers, which Quinn had just finished rebuilding the night before. They started them up and headed down to the battle.

-Thunder Strike-

Cupidon laughed gleefully as the it fired an arrow into another person. "All the people fall in love! And the humans won't know what to do with themselves!" It was about to fire another arrow, when a blast came out of no where and hit it in the had. "Huh?!"

"Stop right there!" Leo yelled as they stopped a few feet from the demon.

"Amazing how many times that actually works," Andy remarked.

"Oh no, you five showed up," the demon said. Austin snorted. She sounded like a beautiful woman, not a demented Cupid demon.

Andy frowned. _Don't these guys usually have witty comebacks of some kind? _He didn't have time to ponder because Leo had raised her morpher. The others followed her lead as they got off their bikes.

"Whatever you're doing, we're going to stop you!" the red ranger shouted.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five of them yelled.

The demon sighed in frustration. "Darklings, descend!"

Leo shook her head. The demon's voice was a little unnerving since it seemed to be both male and female at the same time. She ignored it as the Darklings surrounded her. She took out her blaster and started firing at them, taking them down in twos and threes. She ducked as an arm reached out and grabbed hers. She spun around, breaking the grip and shooting the demon. She kicked one in the chest to keep it away and smacked another one in the head. She fired again and thee herself into a horde before they could gain the upper hand and surround her.

Chris had summoned her wind fans and was whipping them around through the demons. She flicked her wrists and sent the fans spinning through them. She followed them, kicking and punching the Darklings down as she went. She caught her fans and spun around, slicing several through the necks as she did. She saw the strange Cupid demon sneaking away and shook her head. "No way!" She ran from the dissipated clouds. She didn't really watch where she was going as more Darklings converged on her, and she ended up running into the last person she wanted to see. Austin. She ran right into him, almost getting hit in the head with his lightening hammers.

"Hey!" Austin shouted, shoving her away. "Watch where you're going bitch!"

"Bitch?! You need to watch you language, crack head!"

"I don't need you telling me how to live my life!"

"You're so selfish! All you think about is yourself! Do you ever stop and think about anyone but yourself?!"

"Sorry, I didn't know being concerned about my own well-being was selfish!"

Leo sighed and shook her head. _Really?!_ "Austin! Chris! Focus!"

"Are they really fighting in the middle of a battle?" Andy asked as he swung his snow scrapers. "Have we really sunk that low?"

"In my experience-" Quinn began.

"And by that we assume you mean your dad's," Jasper remarked as he took out a couple with his maces.

"Of course, what actual experiences do I have?"

"Is there a point to this?" Andy asked as he ducked under an arm that tried to blast him backwards.

"If you've sink low enough, the only place you can go is up."

Andy glanced at Austin and Chris, who were still arguing. "Yeah. Sure." He raised his snow scrapers to block an attack and took the demons down.

Cupidon, meanwhile, was shaking it's head at the sight of the two Rangers fighting. The Darklings were backing off, clearly confused by the fact that the Rangers were fighting each other instead of the darlings themselves. The demon sighed and knocked an arrow and pointed it at the two Rangers. It fired and the first arrow hit Chris. It chuckled and quickly knocked another one as the blue ranger stumbled. Leo saw her get hit and ran towards her.

"Chris!" she yelled.

Another arrow hit Austin and, much to Leo's surprise, caught Chris. The two of the just stared at each other. They both lifted a hand, and touched them together. They slowly intertwined their fingers together.

Andy and Jasper finished off the Darklings, then looked at the demon in confusion. "What exactly is so funny?" Andy asked, not really sure he'd like the answer. The demon just kept standing three and the white ranger cocked his head in confusion. _Seriously, did they make this one with a defect?!_

"Hey! Knock it off!" Leo shouted. Andy and Jasper looked over at her and saw her trying to get between Austin and Chris. Unfortunately they were clinging to each other with the grip of death. Their helmets kept knocking together and Andy frowned.

"What're they doing?"

The demon kept chuckling. "Have fun Rangers!"

Jasper ran over to try and help Leo separate them while Andy pushed the communication button on his morpher. "Hey Quinn," he said, his mind putting two and two together.

"Yeah?" Quinn replied.

Andy watched as Jasper and Leo did their best to tear the blue and green Rangers apart. "I think we're in trouble."


	39. Episode 13: Opposties Attract Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIII: Opposites Attract

Chapter Two: Crazy Love Spell

A/N: Hey guys! Time for an update! Hope everyone's enjoying this so far! If so, continuing enjoying!

"We can't control the filters others use when they look at us." - Rachel Wolchin

Quinn honestly wasn't sure how to react when the Rangers teleported back and Jasper and Andy were holding back Austin, who was giving it his best effort to get away from them. Leo was doing her best to hold onto Chris, who was trying to get to Austin.

"Chris, you hate Austin, remember?" the red ranger asked.

"Hate him?!" Chris demanded like Leo was the one who was crazy. "I love him!"

"And I love her!" Austin yelled, trying to free himself from Jasper and Andy again.

"No you don't!" Jasper and Andy told him at the same time. Chris managed to break away from Leo and threw herself at Austin. Quinn jumped to her feet as the red ranger reached out to grab Chris. The blue ranger was trying to wrap her arms around the green, but Jasper and Andy were pulling him back. Leo managed to get her hands on Chris, who made a face at the idea of being restrained away from Austn, and pushed her back. Leo stumbled back and Quinn caught her. The two girls immediately yelped bad broke apart.

"You guys ok?!" Jasper asked in concern.

"Yeah," Leo mumbled. She sighed when she saw Chris. "Guys."

"What?" Andy asked. "Oh man!" In their shock, they'd let go of Austin and he currently had his arms around Chris, passionately making out with her. Leo looked way uncomfortably while Andy and Jasper pulled them apart. "Alright Romeo and Juliet, break it up." They managed to get the two apart, but it caused Andy and Chris to fall into one of Quinn's work tables. Quinn closed her eyes so she didn't have to watch her experiments and gadgets fall on the floor.

"Why don't you guys go upstairs?" she suggested. "I'll have the sensors start sweeping the city for Cupidon."

"Sorry Quinn," Andy said, getting to his feet and pulling Chris up with him.

The blue ranger smiled at Austin and gave him a wink so suggestive that Leo squeaked and ran upstairs. Jasper started laughing as Z came downstairs. "Ok, what've you guys done this time to make Leo uncomfortable?"

"Well," Jasper explained as he tightened his grip on Austin's wrists. "A demon put a spell on Austin and Chris so now they want to passionately make baby power rangers."

"Austin and Chris?! Really?"

"What, you don't believe us?" Andy asked. Chris tried to break away from him by stepping on his foot, but he gritted his teeth in pain and held on.

"I think that these two hate each other every fiber of their being."

"They really are under a spell!" Jasper insisted.

"I'll believe it when I see it-"

"Fucking let go of me!" Austin shouted at Jasper. "You can't keep me from her!"

"Our love will overcome!" Chris agreed. She jumped backwards, catching him by surprise. She quickly broke one of her wrists free and elbowed him in the ribs. Andy stumbled back as Austin twisted around to face Jasper and head-butted him. The black ranger released him and put his hands to his forehead in pain.

"Ow!" he howled. "Dammit Austin, that hurt!"

"He can't hear you," Andy said from the floor. He pushed himself to his feet. "He's too busy playing tonsil tennis with Chris." He gestured to the two spell-bound Rangers, who were once again making out.

Z blinked. "Wow you guys weren't lying," he said in disbelief.

"No, we really weren't," Jasper replied. He saw Austin's hands slip down Chris's back towards her butt. "Ok! That's enough of that!" He and Andy used their brute strength to pull them apart again. "You two can stay together but you need to stop making out."

"But we're in love!" Chris objected. She held her arms out and Austin happily placed himself in them.

"I'm not an expert on this, but I'm pretty sure you can be I love and not make out all the time," Andy told them.

"What do you know about love, freak?" Austin demanded, taking a break from kissing Chris's neck long enough to say it.

"Ouch!"

"Don't take it personally," Jasper said, putting his hand on Andy's shoulder. "It's just the spell having an effect on him."

"I know. Still hurts though."

"Why don't we take them upstairs?" Z suggested. "Since they obviously can't be left alone, Quinn, take Chris up to Leo's room."

"Why Leo's room?" Quinn asked coming over. "Why not take Chris to her room?"

"Because any...inappropriate gestures certainly won't happen in there."

"Very true. Let's go Chris." Quinn reached out for her arm. Her hand closed around the blue ranger's arm and she froze.

"Quinn?!" Z asked in concern. His niece's eyes turned gold and she shook like she was being electrocuted. He jerked her away and she stumbled into his arms. Jasper and Andy went to her, ignoring Austin and Chris.

"Are you ok?" Andy asked Quinn as she blinked in confusion and put her hand on her head.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I-I think so."

"What was that?" Jasper asked.

"They're under a spell and creating chaotic energy. I think I'm just...not used to being exposed to so much of it."

"But...we're fine. And we've been restraining them."

"But you guys have morphers that absorb chaotic energy," Z reminded them. "Quinn doesn't."

"I told you guys it wasn't safe for humans," Quinn mumbled. She stood up, but stumbled and fell into Jasper. He caught her and helped her stand up.

"I'll take her," Z said. He put his arms around Quinn and helped her stand. "Let's get you up to your room. You need to lie down. Andy, Jasper, take Chris and Austin upstairs. And keep them separated."

"Got it!" Andy nodded. They went back to the kissing Rangers as Z helped Quinn walk towards the stairs. He gave her a worried look.

"Don't die or anyhring," he warned her. "Your father will kill me if you do."

"I'm...not...not...dying," Quinn mumbled, only half awake.

Jasper and Andy meanwhile, were not enjoying their task. They forced their arms between Chris and Austin and pushed them apart. "Ok, give your lips a rest before they get chapped," Andy said. He looked at Jasper. "Can you get chapped lips from kissing?"

"Well I have so, yeah," Jasper said, steering Austin towards the stairs.

Andy's eyes widened in surprise. "Learn something new everyday. Come on Chris." He dragged her towards the stairs once Jasper had gotten Austin up them.

-Thunder Strike-

Z gently laid Quinn down on her bed and threw her gold blanket over her. "I don't know how you can sleep with this shiny thing over you."

"Mmm..." Quinn moaned. She rolled over and fell asleep almost instantly. Z smiled and smoothed her dark hair back.

"Sleep well." He kissed her forehead and left the room, shutting to door so that the Rangers wouldn't disturb her. He saw Jasper forcibly pull Austin into his room. A minute later Andy appeared at the top of the stairs with Chris.

"Leo!" Andy yelled. His grip slipped, but he regained it quickly. "Leo!"

"Shh!" Z shushed. "Quinn is sleeping."

"Well I need help- oh no you don't!" He pulled Chris closer. Leo opened her door cautiously. "Please take Chris into your room." Leo nodded and opened the door more. She ran over to Andy had helped him drag Chris into her room. Chris grabbed the door frame, trying to resist her friends.

"No!" she yelled. "I don't want to go in there! I want Austin! Austin!"

Z sighed. _I'm starting to miss the quiet days._ "Quinn is asleep, don't wake her up."

Leo carefully pried Chris' fingers off her doorframe and pulled he into the bedroom. "Go," she told Andy. The white ranger nodded in relief and left the room, closing the door quickly. Leo released Chris, who immediately tried to go for the door. "Not so fast," Leo said pulling her back. "Chris you need to stay in here."

"But I want to be with Austin!" Chris moaned.

"No you don't! You hate Austin!"

"How can I hate him?! I love him so much!"

"No you don't! You're under a spell!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

Leo sighed, wondering what to do. _I need to stop her! But how?_ "Chris!"

"What?"

"Let's um...talk about Austin! And uh...I can...I can write you a love song for him!"

"Really?! That sounds prefect!"

"Great. Um...you just sit here." Leo guided a now grinning Chris to sit on her bed. She grabbed a notepad she used to jot down song ideas and sat on the bed with the blue ranger. "Ok, so what do you love about Austin?"

"What's not to love about him? He's so funny and interesting. He's really an individual and so confident in himself."

"Well it's a nice change of pace to hear you complimenting him for once instead of telling him he's the scum of the Earth."

"Why would I do something like that?! He's the love of my life!"

"So you've told me. What else? I ned plenty for the song."

Leo pretended to write stuff down while Chris talked, hoping to keep the bleh ranger busy.

Meanwhile, over in Austin's room, Jasper was sitting in front of the door while Andy sat on the window bench in the room. Austin was pacing around, kicking at random clothes that were strange haphazardly on the floor. "I want to see Chris!" he demanded.

"We've already told you that's not happening," Jasper explained again. "So give it up."

"Ugh!" Austin threw himself on the floor. "Why can't I see her?! I want to see her!"

"You wanted to deck her not an hour ago," Andy reminded him. "It's just a love spell."

"No! I love her!"

"No you don't," Jasper said. "You guys hate each other."

"No we don't!"

"Yes you do," Andy argued. "You're always fighting."

"I was only fighting with her because she always started it! But I love her now! I won't fight with her!"

Andy rolled his eyes. "I have a hard time believing love can exist without fighting. And if you were in your right mind you'd agree with me."

"This ain't like my parents' sham marriage! This is for real! It's real!"

"No it's not," Jasper told him. "We're going to defeat the demon and everything will go back to the way it's supposed to be."

"Gah! Let me see Chris! I want to be with her! I want to hold her and lay with her hair and kiss her and tell her how much I love her! Perfect, perfect Chris!"

"Austin it's not-"

"That why I fight with her you know. Because she thinks she's so perfect. So much better than me. But none of use are prefect. Nothing is and the more perfect it looks, the less perfect it actually is."

"Really?" Andy asked.

"Really. But now I see she really is perfect! And I need her!"

"No you don't. You're doing fine without her."

"I'm dying without her!"

"Go ahead and die then," Jasper replied. "We'll just replace you. Andy laughed as Austin moaned and rolled over so he was face down on the carpet.

-Thunder Strike-

Quit was confused. She wasn't in the her room. In fact, she was pretty sure she wasn't even in the house. Wherever she was it was dark, and she could feel fog surrounding her bare feet and ankles. "What's going on? Where am I?" She noticed a silhouette in front of her and approached it cautiously. "Hello? Who are you?"

The silhouette turned and looked at her. She could tell it was looking because two circles on what she assumed were its face glowed gold. Quinn had a sudden feeling of dread in her gut. "What are you?"

-Thunder Strike-

Leo was starting to think that her parents were definitely right about boys being the devil. Chris was humming to herself, twirling a piece of blonde hair on a finger. "Chris. Chris."

"Hm?" the blue ranger asked, looking at Leo like she'd just arrived. "Oh hi. Sorry I was thinking about Austin." Leo smiled a little in a way that she noticed. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just really weird to hear you talking about him so positively."

"Hm...I guess so."

"Usually you're insulting him and fighting with him."

"Yeah I know. He just reminds me of my brother."

"What?!" Leo stopped what she was doing and looked at Chris. The blue ranger was still laying gown staring at the ceiling like she a blind artist seeing their work for the first time. "What did you say?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, he reminds me of Christopher."

Leo still couldn't believe their parents named them Christopher and Christella. "Why does Austin remind you of your brother?"

"Christo got into lots of trouble too. He drove my parents crazy getting into trouble. We had to move here because of his legal troubles. I had to leave my friends and the rest of our family. I even had to drop out of the performing arts school I'd been attending."

"Really?"

"Mhm. Austin just always reminds me of how much I hate my brother for what eh did to our family." Leo didn't say anything for a minute. "But that doesn't matter! Because now I know that Austin isn't my brother and I love him!"

Leo rolled her eyes. _So that's why she's always so hard on Austin. _She quickly pulled Chris back onto the bed as she tried to get up. "No, no. We're not done with the song yet."

"Oh yeah." Chris giggled and Leo sighed. _Please let the spell wear off as soon as we finish off the demon, _she prayed silently. _Please!_


	40. Episode 13: Opposites Attract Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIII: Opposites Attract

Chapter Three: Yin and Yang

A/N: Hey guys! I meant to update sooner but this has been kind of a hellish week for me. Also to guest reviewer: 1) as to you question about my sexuality, no I didn't figure out I was ace until long after I knew Andy was and 2) to your question about Chris and Austin, you'll have to wait and see. Big things are coming! I hope you guys are ready!

"We can't control the filters others use when they look at us." - Rachel Wolchin

Quinn stirred in her sleep, tossing and turning in her bed. The door opened and Leo came in; followed closely by Chris.

"Why is she sleeping?" Leo asked the blue ranger.

Chris shrugged. "I don't know. I was too busy paying attention to Austin. Oh Austin. Can we go see him?!"

"Shh!" Leo studied Quinn for a minute. "It looks like she's having a bad dream."

"Hm? Oh! Uh...we should wake her up and then we can all go see Austin."

"How about no. Chris no!" Leo reached out, but she wasn't fast enough. Chris darted over to Quinn and put her hand on her arm.

"Quinn! Quinn- Ah!" Chris fell back from a sudden shock. Leo caught her and helped her to stand.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah."

Leo looked at her morpher and saw the dial on her morpher was filled with one section of dark purple light. It had been lit up the last half-hour, which shed attributed to being around Chris. She watched as the purple light blipped a little bit past the line separating the first section and the second one. The light blipped again before it disappeared from the slot on the face of the morpher. _That's...weird._ She looked at Chris and grabbed her wrist.

"What're you doing?" Chris asked.

"Looking and trying to figure something out." Leo and Chris watched as the dark light blipped to full power, then blipped out. Then blipped to full power. Then blipped out. "That's so weird."

Leo nodded. "It's almost like you keep generating a lot of chaotic energy and then using it."

"But...how can I be doing that?"

The red ranger shook her head. "I...I don't know." She looked over at Quinn, who'd stopped stirring and appeared to be fast asleep again. "Come on, let's go."

"Can we go see Austin now?" Chris asked as they left. Leo sighed as she shut the door.

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn stared at the figure, trying to figure them out. She watched as the silhouette reached out its arm and chaotic energy started to flow into it. As it did, the gold light within the silhouette started to glow brighter. The arm swung around and pointed at Quinn. She put her hands up to defend herself. "If you try to hurt me, I won't go down without a fight!"

The silhouette started laughing, and said in a voice that sounded earlier similar, "We'll just see about that."

-Thunder Strike-

There was a crash in Austin's room as the green ranger attempted to force his way past Jasper. Andy grabbed one of Austin's arms and was pulling him back away from the door. The black ranger had placed himself firmly in front of the door to keep Austin in.

"Fucking let go!" Austin snapped, trying to throw Andy off.

"No! You have to stay here!" Andy told him, pulling him back.

"I want to see Chris!"

"No!" Jasper and Andy told him at the same time. Their morphers beeped and they all looked at them.

"Looks like the demon has been found," Jasper said.

"Thank god," Andy sighed. "Let's go get rid of him so that we can fix these two!"

"Yeah- where do you think you're going?!" Austin had tried to use the opportunity to sneak past Jasper and Andy, but unfortunately for him there was no such luck.

"Let's go!" Andy told him as he grabbed his arm. He and Jasper quickly teleported down to the basement before Austin could make another get away. Unfortunately when they got there they discovered that Chris and Leo were already down there.

"Austin!" Chris yelled in joy. She tried to run towards him but Leo grabbed her arm.

"Chris!" Austin shouted in return. He once again tried to run to jerk but Jasper held onto him by the back of his shirt.

"I don't think they should fight," Z advised as he watched them. "They're not exactly capable of focusing on anything besides each other."

Leo sighed, but she knew Z was right. "Austin and Chris stay here. Jasper, Andy, let's go."

"We're really going to do this without Quinn?" Jasper asked as they reached their storm chasers. "What if we have a problem?"

"I'm still here!" Z reminded them. He groaned as he separated Austin and Chris. "Chris, go help the others fight!"

"Why?!" the blue ranger demanded. "I want to stay with with Autsin!"

"You can make out all you want when you get back and the demon is defeated."

"Hm...alright." Chris blew Austin a kiss, which he caught and sent her a wink in return. Z rolled his eyes and started looking for something to tie the green ranger up with, sensing they would need it.

"Let's go!" Leo told them. They started up their bikes and teleported out of the basement.

"Be safe my love!" Austin yelled as they did. He noticed Z approaching him and frowned. "What's with the rope?"

-Thunder Strike-

Cupidon laughed as they fired another arrow at a woman. She smiled longingly at the woman only feet from her and the two of them started kissing. "Haha yes! Love is truly the most chaotic of human emotions!"

"Stop right there!" Leo shouted as they fired blasts from their bikes.

"You've caused way too much trouble!" Andy yelled. "And that says a lot for you guys!"

"You rangers are nothing compared to my power of love!" Cupidon replied.

Amy's frowned as they got off their bikes. "Seriously?! What's with This one never replying?!"

Jasper gave him a look of confusion. "What're you talking about?"

"Boys! Focus!" Leo told them. "Let's morph up!"

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

"Red rain ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!"

Chris sighed. "I miss Austin. Do you think he misses me?"

Cupidon laughed. "Your blue ranger isn't even capable of fighting under the effects of my spell."

"That's what you think!" Jasper replied, making Andy even more confused. Before anyone could move, Cupidon took a heart-shaped arrow and shot it at the Rangers. It hit Andy in the chest, making him fall back.

"Andy!" Jasper yelled. The white ranger quickly pulled it out as the black ranger pulled him to his feet. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Leo took out her blaster and started firing to give them some cover. She looked at Chris. "Let's go! Start firing!"

"But-" Chris started, but Leo shook her head.

"Listen, Austin told me he wants you to defeat this demon."

"Really?! He did?!"

"Yes, he did. That's definitely a thing that he did." She shoved the fact that she was lying out of her head. There were more immediate dangers to worry about.

"Well...ok! But only for Austin!" Chris took out her win blaster as well and started firing. Cupidon quickly avoided their blasts. He started firing more arrows at them, forcing Leo to seek cover behind her storm chaser. Jasper followed suit, pulling Andy along with him.

"Careful, we don't need more people getting hit with those pseudo love arrows," Andy advised as they stayed crouched. All of Chris' attention now seemed to have turned to the demon, so she was still fighting away without nothing them. She shot the arrows that he shot in their direction.

"What're we going to do?" Jasper asked.

"Andy, didn't you get hit?" Leo asked in confusion.

"Yeah. I don't think it worked on me though."

"Lucky bastard," Jasper replied. "If me or Leo get shot we're done for!"

"Leo and I."

"Shut up!"

"Focus boys!" Leo reprimanded. She winced as an arrow hit Chris in the arm, but she pulled it out and just kept fighting. "I don't think the effects work twice."

"Seems like it," Andy agreed. "Apparently I'm immune too. I can help her!"

"Better not push our luck." They watched as Chris summoned her wind fans and whipped them at Cupidon. She expertly avoided the arrows he was firing more to try and inure her. She caught them and used them to knock several arrows out of the air. She spun around cut four more in half to keep the rangers behind her from behind bombarded. She ran at Cupidon, managing to hit him with one of her wind fans. He blocked the other one with his bow and hit her in the chest with it.

Chris stumbled back, but recovered quickly. She attacked again without missing a beat. She spun left and right, using her dancer skills to keep herself balanced. She moved quickly, darting in and out of the reach of its bow.

"Gah! I don't care how much chaotic energy you're creating! I will destroy you!" Cupidon shouted at Chris as he hit her again with his bow.

"I don't think so! I'll stay alive for Austin!" Chris looked at her morpher and saw that it was full of chaotic energy. "I'll do whatever it takes to be with him!" She grabbed her newest tag off her neck. "Super storm, upgrade! The howling wind! Super storm blue!" She summoned her weapon. "Wind storm claw!" She swung the blue claw, scratching Cuipdon all down its front. She flipped over it and came down swinging again. The demon stumbled forward and fell on the ground. It jumped back to its feet and swung the bow at Chris again.

The blue ranger was ready though and swung her claw at it. She broke it clean in half and the demon looked at the two halves in shock. "No! My bow!" It glared at her. "You'll pay for that Blue Ranger!" Cupidon swung one of the broken halves, but Chris ducked and the momentum carried it around. She took the opportunity and swung at the sheath of arrows.

"Gust blast!" she yelled as she did. She went straight through the sheath, destroying the arrows in a cloud of red smoke.

"No! My arrows!"

Chris suddenly stumbled and fell onto one knee. Leo looked at her in concern, but then saw the hearts floating out of her body. The hearts broke in half, right down the middle. The two halves fell apart and disappeared as they fell. Chris blinked and stood up. She felt a hand on her arm and saw Leo there.

"Are you ok?" the red ranger asked.

Chris nodded. "Yeah. Never better."

"No!" Cupidon moaned. "You Rangers ruined everything!"

"You're the one who was making people fall in love!" Chris pointed out. "We won't let any of your twisted plans get to us!"

"We'll we about-" Cupidon didn't even get to finish because green blasts came out of nowhere and hit it. It fell back as Austin stopped his bike close to his friends.

"Miss me Princess?" the green ranger asked as he got off, already fully morphed.

"Not in the slightest," Chris replied. "Let's finish this guy!"

"Girl, but yeah. Let's do it." Autsin, Leo, Andy, and Jasper grabbed their super storm tags.

"Super storm, upgrade!" the four of them yelled.

"The raging downpour! Super storm red!"

"The erratic lighting! Super storm green!"

"The freezing snow! Super storm white!"

"The rumbling cloud! Super storm black!"

"Thunder storm corsser!" Leo yelled summoning her weapon.

Chris attached her own. "Wind storm claw!"

"Lightning storm axe!" Austin shouted, attaching his own weapon.

"Cloud storm defender!" Jasper attached his shield next,

Andy summoned his next. "Snow storm striker!"

Leo smiled and handed it to Chris. "Here."

The blue ranger smiled in return and took it. "Thanks."

"Super Storm Striker!" the five of them yelled. Chris aimed the weapon at Cupidon and pulled the trigger. "Fire!"

"Ahh! I will defeats you, Rangers!" Cupidon yelled as he was destroyed.

"Don't fucking mess with our hearts next time!" Austin yelled.

In the Cloud Palace, Blizzitor sighed. "Another perfectly good demon, wasted."

"This is what you get for thinking of plans on your own," Hurricous informed him.

"Be quiet!" The three greater demons raised their staffs.

"Chaotic energy," they yelled. "Give this demon life again!"

Cupidon laughed as it was resurrected in a funnel of grey clouds. "You Rangers aren't going to love this!"

"Thunder zords, activate!"

"Thunder hawk zord, online!"

"Thunder tiger zord, online!"

"Thunder bobcat zord, online!"

"Thunder fox zord, online!"

"Thunder falcon zord, online!"

"Thunder Strike Megazord!"

Cupidon shot one of its newly rejuvenated arrows at the Megazord. It knocked the arrow away with one arm. It attacked the fighting machine, swinging its bow. The bow hit the Megazord, somehow causing slight damage. The demon grabbed an arrow out of the quiver and slashed at the Megazord with it. The Megazord stumbled backwards.

"Let's summon the storm chasers!" Jasper suggested.

Leo nodded. "Yeah. Let's-" She winced as they lurched again, sending her into her controls with enough force to break her ribs. "Ow." Cupidon stabbed the arrow into the hawk zord, making Leo's controls spark and explode in front of her.

"Leo! You ok?!" Austin asked.

Leo nodded. "I'm ok." She looked over her controls. "My zord isn't though. Lots of damage. I don't have enough power to summon my storm chaser."

"Great! Now what do we do?!"

"Jasper!" Chris said. "Can you- ah!" She braced herself against the control panel and winced.

Cupidon laughed as it stabbed another arrow into the Megazord. "You Rangers are no match for me now!"

"My power levels aren't looking so good," Andy informed them.

"Same," Jasper agreed. He waved away small tendrils of smoke that were coming from his control panel.

"Austin, Chris, you two are the only ones with fully functioning zords," Leo informed them.

Chris rolled her eyes. "Great." She focused herself on the battle. _How can I be down to working with just Austn?! _She fired off at the demon, but Cupidon used the bow to knock the blast away.

"Chris, we need to work together!" Austin told her. "Chris!"

The blue ranger sighed. Austin was the last person in the entire world she wanted to work with. Well...one of them. She shook her head. _Don't think about him right now. Focus!_ She still couldn't help remember something she'd said to Leo earlier. _Austin isn't Christopher. He might act like him. A lot. But...he's not my brother._ She closed her eyes. She hated so much to admit it. _I shouldn't judge them on the same level. They aren't the same person._ And just like that, she felt something open up inside her. Power flowed through her body, seeming to originate in her morpher.

"Holy shit!" Austin yelled pointing. The Rangers saw a blue crack in the sky. A light burst through the the crack, along with something else.

"A horse?" Jasper asked in confusion. Chris only grinned. Horses were her favorite animals. The blue horse gallows through the air and reared onto its front legs and kicked Cupidon away from the Megazord and onto the ground. Chris looked at herself and discovered that she was glowing with a blue aura. She disappeared from the cockpit in a streak of blue light. She found herself sitting in front of all new controls. It was different than her tiger zord, more sleek somehow. There were no buttons or slots for tags or anything like that in here. Just two hand shaped screens. She put her hands on them and smiled.

"Wind stallion zord!" she yelled. The zord seemed to respond to her thoughts. It ran at Cupidon, trampling the demon under its hooves. It reared up into its hind legs and kicked at Cupidon multiple times, making it drop the bow. "He's disarmed! Join with the Megazord!" The stallion neighed and Chris was teleported back into the Megazord cockpit.

"Where'd you go?!" Andy demanded.

"The new zord," Chris explained. "Look!"

The horse's legs detached and reattached to each other, becoming a four aided weapon that the Megazord help in one mouth. The rest of the horse fit snugly on the other arm.

"Wind Stallion Megazord!" the five Rangers yelled.

"My power levels are stable again!" Leo todo them.

"Same!" Jasper agreed.

"Looks like we're ready to go," Andy smiled.

The Megazord threw the four sided weapon, which hit Cupidon, knocking the demon back again. The weapon boomeranged back and hit it in the back of the head.

"You Rangers are in trouble!" Cupidon yelled.

"You're the one who'll be destroyed!" Chris replied.

Cupidon started laughing. "You can't sense it?! The power of the chaotic energy. It's growing. There's something coming. Something bad!"

"Let's finish this guy," Chris told them.

"It's a girl," Jasper said as they flipped their switches.

"It is?" Leo asked in confusion. _I couldn't tell._

"Wind stallion blasts!" they yelled as the four sided weapon started flowing and spinning. The Megazord raised the arm with the horse head and shot a blast out of it. It threw the other weapon after the blast. The two met in the air and the weapon glowed even brighter and spun straight though Cupidon. It then came back, going through the demon once again.

"I don't love this at all!" Cupidon moaned as the Megazord caught the weapon and rye demon was destroyed.

"Yes!" Chris cheered. She high-fired Jasper, then leaned back for Leo to high-five her. The red ranger gave her a thumbs up and the blue ranger nodded her thanks. "The storm has passed!"

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn walked downstairs and found Andy, Jasper, and Leo in the living room. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours," Jasper replied. "Sleep well?"

Quinn shrugged. She thought back to the strange dreams she'd had. She was about to say something to the Rangers, but something stopped her. As if something inside of her didn't want her to tell them. Leo stood up. "I'm glad you're ok," she told Quinn.

"You missed a great battle by the way," Andy told her. "And there are some zords that need to be repaired."

"I'd expect nothing less," Quinn replied. She took their zords so that she could get to work on the repairs as they started filling her in on what had happened. "So Chrsi summoned a zord from the sky too?"

"I sure did," Chris smiled, coming in.

"Weird. Chris, Jasper, can I see your morphers?"

"What for?" Jasper asked, undoing the strap nonetheless.

"I want to run some tests."

"Why?" Chris asked, handing hers over as well.

"You're summoning zords out of the sky! The better question here is why shoutout I."

"That's an excellent point," Andy nodded. Quinn left to go get to work. Chris turned to leave and go to her room when she ran into Austin.

"Hey! Watch it!" Austin snapped.

"You watch it!" Chris replied. "You're the one who was in the way!"

"No, you were in my way Princess!"

"Stop calling me princess, drug-addict!"

"Control freak!"

"Spoiled brat!"

"Bad kisser!"

"You take that back!"

''Make me!"

"I'll make you!"

Jasper and Andy laughed as Chris chased Austin out. "Looks like things are back to normal," the black ranger observed.

Leo looked after them worriedly. "They're still fighting."

"They're going to fight," Andy told her. "It's the natural order of things. But honestly, I'd prefer fighting to them being in love any day."

Leo nodded. "I agree. I'm going to practice my music. If you hear something break, come get me." She stopped and shook her head. "On second thought, don't. It's Z's turn to break up their fight."

"Understood," Jasper nodded. Leo left and he looked at Andy. "How come those arrows didn't work on you?"

Andy shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because I'm ace."

"Maybe."

"I did feel a lot of chaotic energy though."

"Yeah?"

Andy nodded. "I felt it. What Cupidon was telling us about. Like a magnetic pull. They've done something Jasper. Something dangerous."

"They're demons, I'd expect nothing less."

"Still, we should be careful. There's an even bigger storm on the horizon."

-Thunder Strike-

Stormicon laughed as the greater demons assembled before him. "We have them now."

"Sire?" Hurricous asked in confusion.

The emperor created an image for the generals to see. The three of them started smiling with evil glee. "My plan is now ready for action. Soon we'll beat those Rangers at their own game!"

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: Jasper and Andy get to spend the day doing errands for Z, and end up teaching a young boy a lesson on how to stand up to a bully. Also, a new enemy appears to take on the Rangers.


	41. Episode 14: Schoolyard Jusitce Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIV: Schoolyard Justice

Chapter One: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

A/N: Hey guys! It's winter break, which means there's plenty of time for fanfiction! Also, any of my readers who watch super sentai, what'd you think of Zyhuoger? I thought it was pretty good personally. Minecraft Sentai Legoranger, lol. Anyways, enjoy! Things are coming...*laughs evily and walks away*

"A good head a good heart are always a formidable combination." - Nelson Mandela

Z walked into the library and was pleased to find the Rangers working on school work. He wandered by the table where the girls were working and looked over Quinn's shoulder. "Don't tell me you're almost done with that book?"

Quinn nodded, not looking up from the problem she was working on. "A few more chapters and I'll have made it though the whole book!"

Z sighed and shook his head. "Remind me to tell your father we'll need some college level math books for your academic year next year."

Quinn nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah sure."

"In the mean time, since you'll be finished with math I expect you to double up on another subject. Is there a science you haven't taken yet?"

"Um..."

"Biology?"

"Yup."

"Chemistry?"

"Yup."

"Earth science?"

"Yup."

"Physics?"

"I'm studying that right now."

"Paleontology?"

"I refuse."

"Why?" Chris asked her.

Quinn sighed. "My dad teaches it in Reefside. It reminds me too much of him."

Z squeezed her shoulder. "How about marine biology? Or ecology?"

Quinn nodded. "Ok. Sounds good."

Z nodded. "Alright. Jasper, Andy."

"Yeah?" Jasper asked, looking up form his work. He nudged Andy and motioned for him to take his earbuds out.

"What's up?" Andy asked.

"I have a very important job for you two."

"Oh?"

Z nodded. "I need you two to go into the city and do the monthly supply run."

"Why us?" Jasper asked. Normally Z did the supply run himself every month.

"Because I'm an adult and I'm telling you to."

"Solid fucking reasoning," Austin muttered.

"I heard that Austin."

"Well I said it out loud."

Z shook his head and sighed low in aggravation. "Jasper, Andy, I'm trusting you two. I've made a list of all the things we need."

"So basically we're just going shopping?" Andy asked in slight annoyance, but Jasper pat him on the back.

"Don't worry about it," the black ranger told him. "We get to leave for something that doesn't involve beating down demons band that's what matters."

"Lucky," Austin told them. "I'm going stir crazy in here."

Quinn gave him a look. "You're going stir crazy?"

"Point taken."

"Alright, the rest of you get back to work. Jasper, Andy, follow me."

The black and white Rangers got up and followed Z out as their friends got back to work. Leo frowned and looked at Quinn. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Quinn asked, still not looking up.

"What did Z do for supply runs when you were younger?"

"Well when it was just the two of us and I was really yang we only needed supplies every two or three months. But normally he'd give me something to make me sleep for the day while he was gone."

"All day?" Chris asked in confusion. "But he's normally only gone for a few hours."

"Well yeah, now that he can teleport directly into the city. Before I could hold them, he had to take the hidden trails down on his motorcycle and drive all the way there. Do the shopping, load it all up, then drive back. It was an all day affair."

"Z has a motorcycle?!" Austin asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's in the garage."

"There's a garage?!"

"Sure is. I'm not allowed in there because it leads directly outside. Sometimes he'd let me go in there with him while he worked on it. That's how I knew how to design the storm chasers."

"Awesome."

Leo nodded. "Let's get back to work. We still gave fighting practice after this." She looked at Quinn. "Want to join us? We could always use the extra sparring partner."

Quinn nodded. "Sure. I need the practice anyways."

"Great!"

Jasper and Andy meanwhile, were in the kitchen with Z receiving instructions. "Here's the list," their mentor said, handing it to Jasper; who handed it to Andy. "Don't miss anything," he added as he handed them the money. "Do you think you two can handle this?"

"Don't worry Z, we got this," Jasper replied. "But, just out of curiosity, why aren't you sending Leo or Chris?"

"Truthfully, because I need them here distracting Quinn."

"Ah."

"Is that why you're not going yourself?"

Z nodded, sighing. "Yes. That and I have some bad news for her that she really won't like."

"What is it?" Andy asked, becoming concerned.

"Nothing you two need to worry about. Just get going."

"Ok. We'll be back soon." Andy put the money and list in his pocket and the two of them set the coordinates in their morphers.

"And be careful."

"Don't worry, we will be," Jasper replied. They pushed the teleportation buttons in their morphers and teleported out in a flash of colors.

-Thunder Strike-

Dark clouds were swirling and thickening in the cloud palace. Hurricous nodded as he watched the castle grow larger from the outside. "Chaotic energy is definitely building. Our domain grows stronger as the humans grow weaker."

"Too bad the rangers are getting stronger too," Tornidon observed. Hurricous whacked him in the back of the head with his spear.

"You aren't helping you Nitwit!"

"Don't call me a Nitwit!"

"Then stop acting like one!"

"Can you two stop fighting for two minutes?" Blizzitor inquired as he strode out of the castle. He nodded with satisfaction as he noted that his feet had a more solid feel underneath them. "It doesn't matter if the Rangers are getting stronger. They'll be no match for our new secret weapon."

"Why don't we just use it now?!" Hurricous demanded. "Every minute we wait is another minute those rainbow colored brats are getting better!"

"Patience Hurricous. Emperor Stormicon has explained that we can't simply force this into action. Let the chaotic energy do its job. I have reason to believe that we've finally found an enemy the Rangers won't beat."

"That's awfully optimistic," Tornidon noted. "They've defeated every demon we've sent so far!"

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Hurricous snapped, hitting him with his staff again. "But this ain't an old demon we're talking about here! It's-"

"I know what it is!"

"Stop it!" Blizzitor snapped. He pointed his staff at the two of them and sent two pieces of dry ice at them.

"Ah!" Tornidon yelped, jumping.

"Damn you!" Hurricous shouted. "Who put you in charge always?"

"I didn't say I was," Blizzitor replied evenly. "But I'm not the one having pointless arguments when we could be terrorizing humans."

Hurricous mumbled something under his breath. "Let's go to the demon room and see what we have."

"Good idea," Tornidon agreed. "I'm bored. Ow!"

"That was for being stupid. We don't do this for the entertainment. That's just a fortunate byproduct."

"Oh."

"You've got a lot to learn."

-Thunder Strike-

"Ok," Jasper said, reaching over and pulling the list out of Andy's pocket. "Let's see what we need to get."

"If you wanted to look at it, why did you give it to me?!" Andy demanded.

"Sorry. Force of habit I guess. Whenever I went shopping with my younger siblings, I could keep them engaged because they liked to hold the list."

"I'm not a little kid!"

"I said it was a habit. Not that I was trying to treat you like I treat my siblings. Even if you are younger."

"By a year! Not...three or four!"

"My mistake, shouldn't have said anything."

"What store should we go to?"

"Um..." Andy took the list back and looked it over. "Z wrote the name of the store it there."

Jasper looked to where he was pointing. "Oh, right. Let's go then."

The white ranger sighed and they headed for the store. After a few blocks he grabbed Jasper's sleeve and pulled him down an alley. "This way."

"You know I definitely don't trust people dragging me into alleys."

"I know this store, it's faster if we go this way. It's a block away from my old elementary school."

"Alright cool." Jasper followed him down a different street and they turned a corner. Coming up on their right was a school yard. The three story brick building was surrounded by grass on the lawn facing them. They saw little kids playing on the playground equipment and generally just making a lot of noise. Jasper smiled and elbowed Andy. "Bring back good memories?"

"Truthfully? Kind of. I mean, I was never exactly a popular kid. I was quiet and preferred to read, even at recess. I got in trouble a lot for reading under my desk during class."

"You were that kid."

"Yeah I was. But it was better than middle school. Before everyone hit puberty and hormones started taking control."

"Yeah. I had some great times in elementary school. I didn't live on the island yet of course. I lived in Angel Grove. We moved here when I was in second grade."

"Cents imagine why anyone would want to live here. Nothing but a city, a lot of farm lands, and a collection of towns."

"Understandable why Quinn lives here then." Jasper stopped when he realized Andy was no longer standing beside him. "Andy?" He saw the white ranger was stashing and watching the schoolyard. "Andy." He walked up to his friend and stood next to him. "You know most schools don't appreciate random guys in the street watching small children."

"Do you think they see that?" Andy asked.

"See what?"

Andy pointed. Jasper looked and saw what he was pointing to. There was a group of older kids, fifth graders by the look of them, were picking on another boy who was younger than them. He looked like he was in the fourth grade. "Do you think the recess monitors see them picking on that kid?"

The black ranger glanced around and saw that the adults on the playground weren't looking at what was going on. He honestly didn't know if they even knew this was going on. "Come on, it's none of our business."

"Why isn't it?!"

"Because...because..."

"You were bullied as a kid! Don't you wish someone had come to help you?"

"No because I was capable of taking care of myself! I never needed anyone to save me!"

"There's nothing wrong with offering a little help!"

"Well I think that kid should learn to stand up for himself! After all, he's not always going to have help. Sometimes he'll need to do it on his own!"

"The world's a scary place to face on your own!"

"You think I don't know that?!"

They stopped when they heard screaming. They tired and saw Darklings attacking the kids in the schoolyard. "We'll finish this later," Andy said looking around. He spotted a doorway of a building that was nearby. He grabbed Jasper's arm and dragged him into the doorway. They ducked inside so that none of the kids would see them.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the two of them yelled.

They ran from their hiding spot and jumped the fence into the schoolyard. Andy grabbed two Darklings by their arms and jerked them away from the kids. He took out his blaster and started strategically shooting them. He kicked one in the head and shot another one in the chest. He ran to the group of kids. "Get inside!" he yelled at them. "Quickly! Go!" He kept firing as more Darklings appeared and came at them. He saw that they were preventing groups of kids from reaching the school. "Help the kids!" he yelled to Jasper. "We need to get them inside!"

"Right!" the black ranger agreed. He kicked another demon away and pulled a couple of girls to their feet. "Go! Get to the building!" He kept firing at the demons to keep them at bay. He attacked another group, forcing them to release the kids they were grabbing. He smacked one in the head with his blaster and fried at another. The third one abandoned the kids and tried to take on the black ranger. Jasper shot it right in the chest before it was able to get too far.

"Rangers!" a voice yelled. Jasper and Andy turned around and saw a demon that looked like a shadow. He was all black with white holes where his eyes should've been. His arms and legs ended in wisps and tendrils rather than actual hands and feet. One of said arms, was extended out towards the group of frightened teachers and students. "Drop your blasters now, or I'll destroy them all!"

"Who are you?!" Andy demanded as they leveled their blasters in his direction. "What's you want?!"

"For starters, for you two to drop your weapons! Now! Or I'll cast an eternal shadow over them!" Jasper and Andy looked at each other. The white ranger glanced again at the kids, who were watching them with fearful eyes. They sighed and dropped their blasters onto the ground, putting their hands in the air. Draklings suddenly surrounded them and grabbed their arms. Andy winced as they were roughly pulled behind his back. "You kids!" Andy looked and reloaded he was talking to the four boys he and Jasper had been watching earlier. "Tie these two up!"

The first one to move was the smaller boy who'd been being bullied. He grabbed a jump rope near by and walked over to Andy. The other boys followed suit quickly. Andy sighed inwardly as he felt the jump rope being tied around his wrists.

"I'm sorry White Ranger," the boy whispered as he did.

"It's ok," Andy replied, just as quietly. "Everything's going to be ok." He looked over at Jasper and saw his hands were also being tied with a jump rope.

"Now," the demon said, nodding in satisfaction that the Rangers were restrained. "Everyone inside! Now!"

Jasper looked around. _Where is everyone else?_ He glanced at Andy, who was also looking around. _What's holding them up?_ The two Rangers were led inside by Darklings. He nodded at the civilians who were also ushered inside. "Let these people go!"

"No! I have use for them!"

"Don't worry," he whispered to a teacher who was nearby. "We're going to protect you guys."

"I want these two separated! Now!"

Andy gave Jasper one more glance before he was dragged into a classroom. The teacher ushered all the kids into the corner. "Be quiet children, be quiet," he told them. Andy stumbled as the Darklings more or less threw him in. He fell on the ground, glad he hadn't been injured enough to force him out of his morph. He got up unto his knees and saw the Darklings shut the door. He got up and approached it carefully. He knelt down and looked under the door and saw the feet of the Darklings. _They must've put Jasper in with a different classroom._ He stood up and looked back at the kids and tecaher.

"What's going on?" the teacher asked him.

"I don't know," he admitted as he approached them. "But I won't let anything bad happen to any of you. I promise." He sat himself down in front of the group, trying to figure out what he could do. _Wherever the rest of you are, please hurry._


	42. Episode 14: Schoolyard Justice Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIV: Schoolyard Justice

Chapter Two: Protect the Innocent

A/N: Hey guys! Finally got another cheater done! Sorry it took so long, but enjoy!

"A good head a good heart are always a formidable combination." - Nelson Mandela

Quinn should've known there was a reason Z sent Jasper and Andy to do the errands instead of going himself. He'd been more content to take his time with the Rangers there. He didn't have to worry about Quinn being alone and could enjoy the fresh air and sunlight. As much as she complained about being locked up, she knew her uncle struggled with the confinement as well. He usually looked forward to the times he could leave, so senior the boys was a bit of a mystery to Quinn. That is, until he came into her room.

"I have something I need to discuss with you Quinn," Z told her, shutting the door. Quinn sat up and set her book aside.

"What is it?" she asked, getting concerned.

Z walked over and sat on the bed. "You know that your birthday is in a few weeks."

Quinn nodded. "I do know when my own birthday is."

"Good. Well...its just...Quinn...the thing is-"

"Are we going to get to the thing before my birthday or after?"

Z sighed. "Quinn I just got a call from your dad. He's not coming to see us on your birthday."

Quinn blinked and frowned. "What? What do you mean he's not coming?"

"He said that he got a call from an old college friend and she needs his help in Amber Beach."

"So this friend is more important than his only daughter's 16th birthday?!"

"He said it was really important. He sounded really concerned about this project." He sighed as Quinn moved herself to the other side of the bed. "Don't be like that Quinn. We'll still celebrate, and we have the Rangers with us. There'll be more people celebrating your big day this year than tender ever has been!"

"But Dad won't be here!" Quinn snapped, still not looking at him. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "I only see him a few times a year! He always comes on my birthday! Always!"

"I know. I'm sorry Quinn, I really am." Her reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off. He sighed. "I know you want Tommy here. I do to. But I'll be here. I know I'm not him, and I can't replace your father, but your friends will be here and I'll be here. It'll be a great birthday, you'll see." He got up and headed for the door. He looked back and saw that his niece was no longer sitting on the bed. "Quinn?!"

Z ran back over and saw her laying on the floor, passed out. He sighed in relief. _She must've been staying up all night again. _He knelt down and picked her up gently. He laid her down on the bed and covered her with a blanket. _No doubt working on another big project. She really needs to learn the meaning of self control. _He smiled and pat her forehead gently. "I know it's not fair. Nothing about your life is." He sighed sadly and walked away. _At least the conversation didn't go as bad as it could've gone._

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper was happy that his helmet hid his face from everyone because he was actually really scared and he was pretty sure his face betrayed that. _Is Andy ok? I hope so,_ he thought. _I have to find a way out of here. _He twisted his wrists in the ropes, but the kids who'd tied him were actually really good at tying knots. _Must be in scouts or something._ He glanced back at the kids. "Can any of you untie me?"

"B-but won't the m-monsters get mad?" a girl asked. Jasper tried to ignore how much she looked like his younger sister.

"No. But I'll do a much better job protecting you if you can untie me."

"I can try," the teacher said. He crouched down behind Jasper and started trying to untie him. "These knots are really tight."

"Tell me about it."

"Mr. Black Ranger," a boy said. Jasper looked at him. "What's gonna happen to us?"

"Nothing's going to happen to you. I'll protect you. Promise."

"Ok."

"I'm sorry," the teacher said. "My hands are shaking. Its...I can't-"

"It's fine," Jasper lied. "I'll be fine. Just keep the kids calm."

"Right. Right."

Jasper sighed inwardly. _At least one of us can afford to break down._ He knew he had to stay strong. These kids were counting on him.

Meanwhile, Andy was trying to think of a way out of his present situation. He looked around the classroom. It was your average 1st grade classroom with small desks and colorful posters talking about punctuation marks, numbers, and the importance of sharing. He gazed longingly at the windows. _Maybe I can get them out through there._ He struggled to his feet and walked over carefully. He looked out and saw that there were Darklings outside the building as well. _There goes that idea._

He spotted something red flash against the back of building across the street from his vantage point. He blinked and looked around outside._ Is that Leo?!_ He kept looking at the building, hoping to see more signs of his friends, but he didn't see anything. _If they're out there, then they're doing a good job of staying hidden. _He walked back over to the group of kids and sat back down. _Ok. First I need to get out of my restraints._ "Do you think any of you can untie me?" The kids, who weren't all first graders, but definitely on the younger age side of the student body. _Hopefully there aren't teachers freaking out because they can't find their kids. _The kids all shook their heads, clearly too scared by their present situation to move. Andy lokked at the teacher, but even he seemed too us let to be of any real help. He sighed. _Looks like I'm going solo in this one._

_Ok, next problem. I need to contact my team. I need to know what their plan is. Without informing the demons._ He looked around and saw the kid him and Jasper had been watching earlier. Pretty much all the other kids were curled up into tiny frightened balls of children. This kid sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, but he was staring right at Andy. The white ranger smiled. (I think this is someone can use to help me.) "Hey kid," he said gently. A couple of kids near him looked up.

"Me?" the boy asked.

Andy glanced at the tecaher, but he looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. He smiled as he suddenly recognized him. He turned his attention back to the kid. "Yeah you. Come here." The boy got up and carefully stepped over the others as he approved Andy. "What's your name?"

"Liam."

"Nice to meet you Liam. I need your help so we can save everyone."

Liam looked at him with wide eyes. "But I'm not a power ranger."

"That's ok. You don't have to be a power ranger to help people." But Liam just shook his head.

"I'm not brave White Ranger. I cousins even get my book back at recess."

Andy sighed inwardly. He really couldn't blame the kid for being scared. He would've been only a few months ago. "I just need you to do what I say. You first that I won't let anything happen to you, right?" Liam considered this, then nodded. "Ok. Now listen closely. On my watch there's a button on the side. I need you to press it and hold it while I talk."

"Ok." Lima nodded and crouched down next to Andy. He looked over the morpher, marveling at it. He finally found the button. "I found it."

"Good job." Andy hoped his voice would carry enough to reach his morpher. "Is anyone there? This is An-Ace. Is anyone there?" He nodded and Liam let go of the button. He waited a minutes heart-pounding.

"Ace?" Leo's voice said through the morpher. "This is...Holy Smackdown. Are you ok?"

Andy nodded to Liam again. "Good to hear from you Holy Smackdown and yeah, I'm fine."

"How's...uh...the other one?"

Andy chucked a little as he nodded to his new partner. "Gutter Punk and I were separated. I don't know if he's ok or not."

"Alright. I'll have Princess contact him right now."

"Where's Computer Q?"

"Passed out. We're doing this on our own."

"Good to know. They have some kind of a shadowy monster with them."

"Ok. We'll work on getting to you guys."

"Alright. I-" Andy stopped when the door suddenly burst open. Liam stopped owning the communication button in shock. He hid behind behind the white ranger a little bit as the dark shadowy monster from before came in; followed by a group of Darklings.

"What's going on in here?!" the demon demanded. Andy could pretty much feel the fear coming off the kids behind him. Liam clung to his arm and hid behind him.

"Nothing's going on."

"You were talking to someone."

"There's other people besides me in here."

If the demon could glare, Andy guessed he was doing it right at that moment. He reached out his hand and his fingers started to elongate. Andy resisted the urge to move back in fear as they crept through the air at him and the kids. "Don't test my patience, ranger!"

Andy could hear the kids behind him whimpering in fear and sighed. "Alright! You've made your point! Leave them alone!"

The demon chuckled and with drew his hand, but Andy could still feel the evil that was was left in the air. He glared from behind his helmet. He understood the demons attacking him and his teammates. They were trained and well equipped with probably the smartest teenager on the planet supporting them. They were the soldiers in this war. But for Stormicon and his goodies to send demons after children and teachers who were unprotected and unable to defend themselves...that was crossing a line.

"You're too easy to control, White Ranger. That's the problem with you heroes. You care too much about the silly species you protect."

"That's the whole point in being a hero. If we didn't care about the life of every single human we wouldn't be doing this."

The demon suddenly whipped around and smacked Andy in the chest. His arm snapped out and elongated so fast that he didn't even see it coming. Andy fell on his side in sudden pain. White hot pain course through his veins as he spasmed and cringed on the floor. "That's just a taste of what I can do."

"You...don't...scare...me!"

The demon seemed to take this as a challenged and walked closer to the white ranger. "Oh you aren't, are you?"

"Definitely...not."

"Let's just test that theory shall we?"

Andy wasn't afraid of taking a couple of hits for the kids. He'd take a fatal hit for them if the situation called for it. He was worried about getting injured enough that it could cause him to de-morph. And he couldn't do that in front of all these kids. He closed his eyes and tried to prepare himself for another blow. So he was surprised when I steams he heard a little voice shout, "Leave him alone!"

He opened his eyes and lifted his head. Liam was on his feet and glaring at the demon. The demon looked at him curiously. Andy groaned internally. _Sure because my day wasn't bad enough already. _He sat up as the demon moved closer to the kid. "Leave him alone!" He snapped. "He's just a little kid! He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

Liam stumbled back a little bit and fell on his butt. Andy did the only thing he could think to do, which was throw his body in front of the kid. It turned out to be the right decision because when the demon hit him, even more pain exploded through this torso. He gritted his teeth as hard as he could to try and keep from crying out. But it was hard. A couple of kids screamed while Liam gasped in shock. The demon chuckled.

"Like I said, you heroes are too devoted to protecting every life. You could probably save yourself if you tried but you won't. Instead you'll let yourself be eaten alive by my shadows. And for what? The life of a few brats?" He turned and walked away, motoring for the Darkling to stay. Once the door was shut the positioned th else's around the classroom so that Andy couldn't get near the door or windows. He sat up slowly and painfully.

"Are you ok?" Liam whispered, his voice small.

Andy nodded. "I'm ok."

"I'm sorry. You got hurt because of me."

"No, I got hurt because that's my job. Being a power ranger means I protect everyone and anyone. That includes you. I'd do it again."

"Really? You would?"

"Of course." Liam looked down sadly and Andy nudged him with his arm. "Don't be scared. I'm going to get you guys out of here."

"How?"'

Andy sighed as he looked around again. "I don't know yet. But I'll figure it out. Promise."


	43. Episode 14: Schoolyard Justice Chapter 3

Episode 14; ch3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIV: Schoolyard Justice

Chapter Three: A Hero's Heart

A/N: Hey guys! I finally got this one done! Hopefully the length will make up for the delay. Enjoy!

"A good head a good heart are always a formidable combination." - Nelson Mandela

Leo and Chris crouched down on the roof of the building next to the school. Austin pulled himself up onto it and ran to the two girls. "Ok," he said when he crouched down. "They've still got the place completely surrounded and more civilians are starting to notice."

"Did you tell them to stay away?" Leo asked him, finally looking away from the school.

"I did. Of course there were multiple concerned parents, gotta say wish my parents cared about my safety that much. They'd probably let the fucking demons drag me to hell."

"I definitely would," Chris remarked.

"Alright you two," Leo warned them. "We need to focus. The lives of a lot of kids are in danger."

"And Andy and Jasper," Chris added.

Austin sighed as he looked down at the school. "I wish we had Computer Q behind us on this one."

"We can do this," Leo said confidently. She stood up. "Alright, let's go!" Chris and Austin nodded and stood up as well. "Remember, kill the demons as you go. If even one Darkling gets away, they'll alert the shadow demon to our presence."

"And if he finds out he might de story Andy and Jasper. And the kids," Chris added.

"Alright then," Austin smiled as he clapped his hands together. "Let's let moving!"

The three of them backed up away from the edge of the roof. Leo felt her heart fluttering, thinking of what could go wrong. She wondered if Quinn was wake, if she'd tell them that they were being stupid and there was an easier way to get into the school. _We can't all be geniuses like her._ The red ranger realized that the other two were looking to her for the signal. She took a deep breath and silenced her fears. _Jasper and Andy are counting on us. "_Go!"

The three of them sprinted at the edge of the roof. As soon as they reached the ledge they jumped. Leo felt her stomach drop at the sense of free falling through the air. Austin was smiling under his helmet. They'd done plenty of crazy stuff before as Rangers, but he was pretty sure this took the cake. Chris and Leo landed on the roof almost in unison. The two of them dropped and rolled when they hit it. Austin, unfortunately, missed the roof and had to grab at the ledge with his hands to keep himself from falling several stories.

"Nice landing," Chris said to Leo.

"Not so bad yourself."

"Uh?! Guys!" Austin snapped. "I'm dangling for my fucking life here!"

"Shh!" Leo shushed as she scrambled over to him. She and Chris grabbed his wrists and pulled him up. "Be quiet."

"Oh, sorry. Was my almost dying too loud for you?"

Leo shook her head. "Let's just get moving." They stood up and headed for the door that lead to the roof. Chris gave it a tug once they'd reached it, but discovered that it was locked.

"Watch out," Austin said, pushing her aside. He took out his blaster and aimed it at the lock. He shot it and the blast broke right through the metal. "All fixed!"

"Isn't that vandalism?" Leo asked him as he tugged the door open.

"Hey, we're saving everyone in this building. I think they'll understand."

Leo nodded a little as she and Chris pulled out their blasters. "Let's go." She stepped past Austin led the way down the stairs. The natural light of the sun lit the darkened stairwell for them as they ran down them as quietly as possible. They reached another door and Leo pulled it. This one was also locked. "What school locks this many exit doors?"

"Welcome to the public school system," Austin whispered as he pushed past her gently. He put his blaster up to the lock and fired. Leo was grateful the blasters didn't emit any sound when fired. Otherwise they'd have lost the element of surprise. Leo pulled the door open and peeked her head out. There were Darklings stationed every few yards in small groups of twos and threes. She ducked back inside the stairwell.

"They're in front of the classrooms," she said. "We'll have to fight them to get the kids out. Chris you take one aid,e I'll take the other. Austin, take them to the roof and protect them in case the Darklings try to follow."

"Alright" Chris said.

"Got it," Austin replied.

Leo nodded and she and Chris ran out of the stairwell. Leo headed for the closest classroom on her left and Chris went right. She shot the two Darklins outside it quickly and moved on to shorting the next ones. The ones father down the hall were running towards her. She kept firing at them as they attacked her. She grabbed her weapons tag. "Rain sticks!" She started slicing her way through the demons that tried to grab her. She sliced through the head of one and saw that one from the back of the group was trying to run away. She threw one of her weapons at it and it soars straight through the foot soldier's head. She held her hand out as she kept up her attacks with the other hand. She caught the other stick and went back to two hand combat.

Chris meanwhile was facing much the same predicament. She quickly summoned her wind fans and started slicing her ways through the Darklings. She flicked one of her fans at a couple of them and it chopped through their necks. She kicked in the chest and swiped the one behind it with her fan. She caught the other fan and spun around; throwing the next fan in the same motion. It spun gracefully through the air and sliced through the necks of the demons. She ran forward though them, swiping at them with her left hand as she caught the second fan. She led the demons father down the hall along with Leo.

Austin bolted to the first classroom, blaster out and ready to shoot. He opened the door and looked around. He immediately shot the few Darklings he saw. He turned and found a group of fifth graders, a teacher, and a teacher aid. The adults were standing in front of the kids, who were all clustered together like it was a lock down drill. "Don't just sit there!" Austin snapped. "Let's go, I'm taking you to safety!"

"Where?!" the teacher demanded. This had been a very long and terrifying day. He wasn't in the mood for anyone to be given him orders. Particularly if they sounded like a teenager.

"To the roof! Not let's go! I have other classrooms to get to!" Austin left the room, hoping they'd listen. He went to the next classroom and had to duck when someone threw a chair at him. He ducked and it soared over his head; just clipping the top of his helmet. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He held up his hands, still holding his blaster in one. "Don't throw anything! I'm a power ranger! I'm a good guy!"

The teacher realized it was him and put down the chair she'd been holding up. "Oh my! I'm so sorry-"

"It's fine. Listen, you need to get the kids up to the roof."

"The roof?! But-"

"They'll be safe there. I'm joining you as soon as I can. Promise."

"You want us on the roof alone? With demons that can just appear out of the sky?"

Austin blinked. He wasn't used to civilians questioning his orders when there was a crisis. "Yes," he replied slowly. "Just...just go up to the roof. We're going to protect you. I promise."

The teacher nodded. "Alright class everyone grab a buddy. We need to be quiet. Let's go."

Austin nodded and left the classroom. He had to keep moving. They needed to get all the kids somewhere away from the demons. And find Andy and Jasper before anything too bad happened.

-Thunder Strike-

Andy smiled when he saw the red streak in the sky. _I knew they'd come,_ he thought to himself. He wiggled around a little bit and got himself away from the kids. He opened his arms as wide as he could and moved so that he was laying on his stomach. He moved his legs closer to his body and stretched his arms out. He managed to wiggle his legs up into his arms. He managed to get up to his knees before it felt like he would pull his shoulders out of their sockets. He gritted his teeth and kept going though.

_I have to save these kids,_ he thought to himself. _I have to save Jasper!_ He rolled forward and managed to get his hands past his knees. He smiled in triumph and wiggled them in a position where he could use his arms. He pushed himself up onto his knees and rolled his shoulders. He winced a bit. _I really shouldn't do that again anytime soon. Although, _he pondered as he tried to run the back of his left shoulder a little bit. _that was a pretty cool escape. I have to remember that one._ He grabbed his blaster from his belt. _It was really stupid of them not to take my weapons. _He struggled to hold, but eventually found a grip. He reached up and pulled his weapons tag off his chain. He flipped it around with his fingers and pushed it into the slot on his blaster.

"Snow scrapers!" he said as he put the tag in. As son as he had his scrapers in his hands he flipped them around and flicked his hands. He cut the jump rope off and stood up. He smiled and rolled his shoulders again. He turned to the kids. Louis was staring at him with the widest eyes and smile. "You guys stay here. Pile desks against the door and lock it. Also everyone grab the biggest book they can find. If a demon comes in here, throw them all. Got it?" Clearly the teacher was still in shock from everything that was happening. Andy sincerely hoped this school never faced a crisis like this again. The poor guy could probably handle only so many heart attacks in a lifetime. Luckily, someone was ready for action.

"Yes Sir Mr. White Ranger!" Louis replied enthusiatsically. He jumped to his feet and saluted Andy, smiling broadly.

Andy grinned, even though he knew Louis couldn't see it. He nodded at the young boy. "Alright. I'm leaving you in charge Young Louis. See that everyone in here is armed and this room is forticated."

"Yes Sir!"

Andy turned to leave and headed for the door. Right before he opened it, he heard slam one behind him say, "Do you really think books would hold them off?!" He turned around and looked at the teacher.

"You're an educator," Andy told him. "You should know knowledge and books are the greatest weapons against evil we possess." He nodded at Louis again. "And Louis? Call me Ace." He put the end of his show scrapers together and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and focused on the feeling of power inside of him. He relaxed his muscles and let the Power flow through him. He opened his eyes and saw the his snow scrapers had fused together into one. _Looks like Leo isn't the only one who can mess with her weapons. _He opened the door and looked out cautiously. He saw Darklings and the Darklings saw him. He immediately sung his scraper and took out the first two directly near him. He pulled the door shut behind him, hoping Louis would follow his instructions.

He ducked as the Darklings tried to grab him and stabbed his well an into one. He spun around and hit another across the chest. He kicked another one in the chest and spun around to hit in the neck. He spun his weapon and hit another in chest; then spun it to the left and stabbed it into another demon. He slashed another in the chest and hit the one next to it in the head. He beat another one off and saw some going into classrooms. "Oh like hell I'm letting you do that." He took off running down the hall after them.

Meanwhile, Jasper knew something was up when the Darklings started moving towards the door. They'd been prowling the room, not daring to come close to the kids due to Jasper sitting so close to them. He tensed as the door opened and the shadow demon came in. "What do you want?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so cocky, Black Ranger," the demon hissed. He held out his hand and it elongated. The fingers didn't look physical, they'd didn't seem like they should be able to grab his foot. But they did. They wrapped right around his ankle and in one jerk, moved him away from the kids and one foot away form the demon. The fingers continued to wrap around his leg, and Jasper stared shivering. His faced changed under his helmet. Fear and sadness started racing through his mind. Thoughts clouded in one after another. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. But the thoughts just kept coming. "Good. Feel the shadow of doubt fall over you. Give into your despair."

Jasper tried to fight it. He really did. But as the shadowy fingers kept creeping up his body, he found it harder and harder to do so. He wanted to do what the demon said. Just give in and let the helplessness consume him. It was so much work though. He had an overwhelming sense of helplessness in him. Two white circles suddenly cut through the air and hit the demon from behind. He stumbled and released Jasper quickly. The black ranger did his best to move away as Andy came running into the room. He jumped up and grabbed his weapons as he flipped over the shadow demon. "Your timing is amazing," the black ranger smiled.

"I try," Andy replied, never taking his eyes off the demon. "You ok?"

"Yeah. I'm alright." He managed to get to his feet and Andy spun his snow scrapers down. He sung them down at Jasper's bonds and cut the jump rope away.

"Cloud maces!" Jasper summoned his own weapons and they squared off against the demon.

"I don't know how you managed to get away," the demon hissed, eyes locked on Andy, "but you're not running my plan!"

"If your plan involves hurting little kids, I'll make it my personal mission to get in your way every time."

"Brave words for such a pitiful human."

Andy ran at the demon throwing one of his snow scrapers ahead of himself. The demon knocked it aside easily, but the white ranger held his hand out and summoned it back. He swung his left one, and then his right one. The demon grabbed both of them with his shadowy fingers. With a surprising amount of strength, he lifted Andy up and threw him through a window. The kids screamed as glass shattered and rained down onto the floor. Andy picked himself up though. He ran back at the building and grabbed the window ledge. He pulled himself up into the room, holding his hands out behind him. His snow scrapers flew to his hands as he landed on a desk. He chucked one of them at the demon, momentarily distracting him from Jasper. He threw the other one, injuring the demon as it sliced across his chest.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" the demon hissed. He suddenly dissolved into vapor and flew away like he was being carried by the wind.

Andy hopped down off the desk and held out his hand. Jasper took it and the white ranger pulled him to his feet. "Let's go get him!"

"Right behind you!" Jasper replied as they ran out.

"Leo!" Andy said into his morpher as they ran.

"Andy!" Leo replied. "I'm glad you're ok! Is Jasper with you?"

"Yeah. He's ok. The shadow demon is on the run! We're following this down Elm Ave now! Looks like he might be heading towards the Elmwood Plaza!"

"We'll be right there. We just need to finish of the Darklings!"

"Got it!" He looked at Jasper. "Let's summon the bikes."

"Great idea!" the black ranger agreed.

"Storm chasers, online!" the two of them yelled. Their bikes appeared and they ran beside them. They grabbed the handle bars and jumped on. They sped after the dark vapor, weaving their way through cars and trucks on the road. Andy smiled when he saw that he was right. The demon re-materialized in the center of the plaza. He saw the Rangers coming and stretched his hands out. They wove around the shadowy appendages though and started firing off blasts from their bikes. He turned back into vapor and re-materialized on the other side of the plaza from them.

"Haha! Looks like you Rangers- ah!" He stumbled forward when he was suddenly hit from behind. Leo, Chris, and Austin drove up to the plaza; circling around to stop by the white and black Rangers.

"You guys doing ok?" Austin asked them.

"We're fine," Andy replied. "He's not going to be though."

"You can say that again," Jasper agreed. The Rangers got off their bikes and all summoned their blasters. They lifted them up and pointed at the demon. He raised his hands out by his sides.

"Come and get me!" he challenged.

The Rangers were about to fire when a bright light appeared in front of them. It shot down out of the sky; creating a column of light between them and the demon. The Rangers stumbled back and each thew an arm over their eyes. They closed them against the harsh light. When it finally died down they slowly looked back. There was a figure crouched on one knee in front of them. The shadow demon started chuckling lowly.

Jasper opened his mouth, but no words came out. He stared in shock, his blaster hand starting to shake.

"What the fuck?!" Austin demanded. "What...what..."

"Holy shit," Andy whispered. He blinked but it didn't change the image in front of him.

"That's...that's impossible," Chris whispered. "How- how?!"

Leo shook her head as the figure stood up. The red ranger felt her veins freeze when she got a good look at the newcomer.

"Is...is that?" Jasper asked, unable to find the proper words.

Leo nodded and took a deep breath. "A gold ranger."

The good ranger looked around herself like she's never seen the world before. Her suit was a dull, shiny gold; small specks catching the sunlight. On her chest was a sun that had lines running through the center, forming some kind of bird. Her wrists had blue cuffs with triangle patterns on it. There was also the same pattern on her forearms, giving her arms a gauntlet effect. Around her waist was a similar blue lining with the blue triangle pattern; forming a belt jus above her skirt. Hanging off each of her hips was a blaster. Her boots were the same gold as her suit, with the tops decorated in the same blue lining song triangle pattern. Her helmet had a black sun on it. She stared at the Rangers for a moment before looking around again.

"What's going on?!" Andy asked. "Who is she?! How...why is she a ranger?!"

"I...I don't know," Leo replied. The shadow demon approached the gold ranger, still chuckling.

"You Rangers are about to experience the enormous power of the Chaotic Storm Empire!" He put his hand on her shoulder and Leo could see this was a mistake. "Ranger, attack them!"

The gold ranger simply looked at the hand. She followed the arm up to the demon and stared at him for a minute. She suddenly grabbed the arm and flipped the demon over her body. "Don't order me around!" she snapped. Her voice was strange. It was high and low all at the same time. Like talking through sand.

"Does this mean she's on our side?" Austin asked as the shadow demon got to his feet.

Meanwhile, up in his castle, Emperor Stormicon was watching everything in the void on his spear. He smiled as he watched the scene play out. "Sun Storm Ranger," he said into the cloud. "Destroy the power rangers."

Back on the ground, Sun Storm Ranger looked at the Rangers. "Destroy the power rangers," she said.

"Nope, definitely not friendly," Andy said as they pointed their blasted at her.

"We still have to worry about the shadow over there," Jasper reminded them.

The Sun Storm Ranger pulled out both her blasters and pointed them at the Rangers. She started firing and they had to scramble away. Leo and Chris started firing back, but the gold ranger was too fast. She avoided their blasts easily and returned fire, able to fire at both of them at the same time.

"Andy! You and Jasper get the shadow demon!" Leo yelled. "We'll keep the gold ranger busy!"

"You got it!" Andy nodded. Austin started firing at the gold ranger so Jasper and Andy could get away. They started firing on the shadow demon. He backed up and held his hands up. The fingers and arms stretched out before them. They ran in, shooting and dodging to get to him. The shadow demon ran back and started trying to out manager the Rangers. Andy summoned his snow scrapers and thew them. They crossed each other and hit the shadow demon. He caught them as Jasper ran at him and started swinging his cloud maces.

Meanwhile, Leo and Chris were pinned down by the gold ranger. The two of them were crouching behind a mailbox, trying to avoid getting shot. "She's powerful!" Leo gasped as the shots hit the mailbox.

"Yeah," Chris agreed. She peeked around when she felt the bombardment stop. She rolled her eyes. "Really Austin?"

Leo looked as well. "Oh my gosh."

Austin had evidently decided to draw fire away from them. He was running in random patterns around the gold ranger as she fired at him. She suddenly stopped and flipped one of her guns around. She put them together so they formed a rough square. She threw it in the air and raised she hand towards it. "Solar disc!" The square glowed and came down to her hand. She threw the now golden frisbee at the green ranger. It hit him in the chest and knocked him back ten feet.

"Austin!" Leo yelled, jumping to her feet. She ran towards him and the gold ranger turned to her. She threw the frisbee at Leo. It hit the red ranger in the chest and she felt heat suddenly burn through her body. She flew thought the air and hit the ground. "Ah!"

"Leo!" Chris yelled. She summoned her wind fans and attacked the gold ranger. But she wasn't fast enough. The gold ranger grabbed her frisbee as it returned and flicked her wrist. It hit Chris in the head, knocking her off her feet. She yelled in pain as heat burned through her body. Leo struggled to her feet and the gold ranger looked at her. _Leo stay down!_

Sun Storm started walking towards her, tossing her frisbee from hand to hand. The red ranger cringed, but pushed herself to her feet. She braced herself for the pain a s the gold ranger pulled her arm back. But the She stopped and suddenly put her hand to her head. She moaned and stumbled. She seemed to be in a lot of pain. Leo watched her curiously. The gold ranger looked at her. "We'll finish this another time," she growled. She disappeared in a column of bright light.

"Leo!" Austin shouted as he and Chris ran over to her. "Are you ok?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"I think fine is a bit of a stretch."

"Let's just go help Jasper and Andy."

They ran over to their friends who were making progress. They were alternating their attacks to keep the shadow demon on his toes. He stumbled under another hit from Andy's snow scrapers. "What happened to the gold ranger?" Jasper asked as their friends joined them. He decided not to ask about why their suits were smoking slightly.

"She took off," Austin replied.

"Let's finish this guy," Andy told them.

Leo looked at her morpher. Thanks to the gold ranger, they now had a full charge of chaotic energy.

"Super storm, upgrade!"

"Thunder storm crosser!"

"Wind storm claw!"

"Lightning storm axe!"

"Snow storm striker!"

"Cloud storm defender!"

Leo held the combined weapons and passed it off to Andy. "Go ahead," she told him. "You've been taking the lead all day."

Andy nodded. "Thanks Leo." He pointed it at the shadow demon. Leo and Chris each placed a hand on his shoulder. Austin put one on Leo's and Jasper put one on Chris'.

"Super storm striker!" the five Rangers yelled as they powered it up. "Fire!"

Andy pulled the trigger and the swirl of colors hit the shadow demon. It enveloped him and caused him to explode. "Yeah! We got him!"

A giant funnel cloud descended and brought the demon back. "I'm going to cover your world in shadows!"

"Not likely!"

"Thunder zords, online!" the five of them shouted. "Thunder strike megazord!"

The shadow demon simply laughed and waved his arms out. They extended and hit the Megazord. It stumbled back and he hit again form the left and then the right. "You Rangers aren't really that's tough!"

"Did he not notice how we just defeated him?" Andy asked as they were knocked around. Leo cried out when she hit her controls. She was still sore from the gold ranger's attacks.

"Well let's stop him!" Jasper suggested. "Before he destroys us!"

Andy winced as his head was thrown against the side of his helmet. He tired to think back to the school. To saving the kids. To Louis' face when he freed himself. It was such an unusual feeling of power to him. For all his confidence, and all his assure he'd always felt so small. So powerless. Like Louis against those bullies. _But I'm not powerless, _he reminded himself. _I'm not powerful because I wear the suit. I through my way out because I'm creative. Inlet myself be captured because I'm compassionate. I am powerful. I am powerful._ He opened his eyes and looked at his hands. He was glowing with a white light. "Does this mean-"

"Andy look!" Jasper said, pointing at the sky.

A good crack zigzagged its away across the blue sky. Out of it, emerged a good blob. Changed shape and they realized it was a pure white butterfly, except the red, blue, green, and black stripes forming an odd rainbow on each one.

"That looks fierce," Austin smirked.

"Austin!" Leo scolded.

"It's alright Leo," Andy assured her. Austin could say what he wanted. The white ranger knew this zord had a lot of power. He embraced the power flowing through his body and held out his hand. The zord flew towards them. The wings disconnected from the body and the head did as well. The wings reconnected at the vertical ends of the body. The head became a helmet on the head of the Megazord and one of the mouths grabbed the new weapon.

"Thunder Butterfly Megazord!" the five Rangers yelled. The shadow demon simply tried to hit them again with his hands and fingers. But he found himself blocked by the weapon when the Megazord raised it. It then took the weapon and swun left and right, hitting him in the chest twice. He stumbled back and trend to attack from both sides. The Megazord simply threw the weapon in the air and it spin around, going in a circle around the Megazord. It blocked both the hands and caused the demon to retract them in pain.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" he shouted. "This isn't possible!"

"Of course it's possible!" Andy replied. "Real power comes from within. Not from your size or strength. Power is who you are. Not what you have!"

"You silly Rangers don't last a chance against me!" He attacked the Megazord again, but it simply threw the weapon. Said weapon crisscrossed in patterns all around the D eon as it hit him. He couldn't shake it off, or hit it away. The Megazord held out its arm and the weapon returned.

"Let's get rid of him!"

They all flipped the third switches. "Thunder Butterfly Strike!" they shouted as a team.

The Megazord flew into the sky and came down at the demon. It thew it's weapon, which did the zigzagging attacks again. It went back to the Megazord, which pulled its arm back and gave him another hit as it flew by. As it landed, the demon stumbled. "I was so close! I was so close!" he shouted as he fell and exploded.

The Rangers all cheered and high fived. "We did it!" Andy smiled. "Yes!"

"Thanks to you and your new zord," Jasper told him.

"The storm has passed!"

-Thunder Strike-

On their way back to the house, Andy and Jasper detoured by the school. They saw parents hugging their kids as people poured out of the building. Andy smiled. Jasper gave him a nudge. "Look," he said nodding.

Andy lokked and saw Louis was standing in front of the bullies. He stood tall and proud, staring down the older boys. The white ranger nodded. "Looks likes he'll be alright."

Jasper nodded as they started walking away. "Thanks to you."

"I didn't really do anything. He had the power in him all along."

"I've been thinking about what you said. How real power comes form within and all. And you're right. Size and strength, those mean nothing if you don't have the heart of a hero. Or the conviction to protect the people around you no matter what." He put his hand on Andy's shoulder. "You're one smart cookie."

Andy fought the urge to blush. "Thanks. We should get back to the house."

Jasper nodded. "Let's go."

-Thunder Strike-

The Rangers all sat in the living room as Quinn came running in. "What happened?!" she demanded. "My sensors are all messed up!" She saw that Leo, Chris, and Austin were bandaged. "What happened?!"

"What happened?!" Austin demanded. "You didn't tell us there was a sixth morpher! That's what happened!"

"What?! No there's not! I would know, I built them!"

"Well, someone copied your design because we were attack by a hold ranger," Leo told her. Quinn sat down in shock.

"A gold ranger?"

"Yes." It was concerning that Quinn didn't have anything to say about it.

Jasper sighed. "I don't get it. Aren't power rangers the good guys? Why is she attack us? I mean whoever heard of an evil power ranger."

Quinn and Z shared a look. "You'd be surprised," Z told them. "Whoever this girl is she might not be attacking of her own accord."

"That's true," Andy agreed. "Or maybe she just doesn't fully understand what's going on."

"Ether way she's dangerous," Austin pointed out. "She took down three of us alone. With one weapon! She's something else."

"So what do we do?" Andy asked.

"We destroy her," Chris replied like it was obvious. "Before she destroys us!"

Quinn frowned. "That may not be your best course of action."

"Quinn you didn't see her. She was unstoppable."

"No, Quinn's right," Leo said. "This gold ranger might not be as evil as we think. Next time she shows up, we're going to talk to her."

"What if she won't talk to us?" Jasper asked.

"Then we'll...we'll think of somehting." She looked at her team. "Until this is all figured out no one goes anywhere alone outside the house."

Z nodded. "That would be wise."

Everyone looked at each other, the same thiught racing through their heads. Where did the gold ranger come from? What did she want? And, perhaps most importantly, who was she?

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: Austin takes it upon himself to try and get Leo to act less reserved in the freedom away from her parents.


	44. Episode 15: In the Music Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XV: In The Music

Chapter One: Dissonance

A/N: Hey readers! Sorry for the sudden hiatus. My life was really crazy. Again. But things have steel do own so it's time time to move on!

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and which it is impossible to be silent." -Victor Hugo

Jasper sighed as he picked himself up off the mats in the dojo.

"Again," Chris said, not letting up her stance.

"Do we really have to keep this up?" Jasper asked her as he took a stance of his own. They started circling each other. "We've been at it for hours." He attacked Chris, reaching out to punch her.

"You didn't fight that gold ranger." She deflected his blow and kicked him in the stomach. Jasper grabbed her foot and threw her off balance. Chris summersaulted back when she hit the floor. "She's good. Really good. And powerful."

"So you know if Quinn has made any progress in figuring out who the gold ranger is? Of where she came from?" He blocked Chris' punch and twisted her arm behind her back.

"Last I heard she was banging her head off the keyboard. She doesn't even know where the gold ranger's powers are coming from." Chris elbowed him in the ribs and spun on her heel. She kicked him away and backed up.

Leo poked her head on them. "Is Quinn in here?" she asked.

"Nope," Jasper replied as he blocked another kick. "Pretty sure she's still in her lab."

Leo sighed and left them. She went to the basement door and put in the unlock code. She closed the door behind her as she went down the stairs. She found Quinn sitting at her computers, staring at the screens like she was trying to set them on fire with laser vision. The red ranger approached her, but Quinn didn't look up. "When was the last time you slept?"

Quinn blinked and rubbed her eyes. "What day is it?"

"Thursday."

"Um...I slept for a couple hours on Tuesday."

Leo shook her head. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed Quinn's arm and pulled her out of her seat. "You need to sleep."

"I can't sleep," Quinn replied, pulling away. She wandered over to one of her work tables.

"You're not going to figure the gold ranger out by not sleeping."

"I can try." She felt Leo's hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "I'll sleep in a little bit."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Leo nodded and left Quinn to her own devices. Quinn winced and put her elbows down on the table. She put her head in her hands. Her eyes clenched as pain spasmed across her skull. "Just an exhaustion headache." She stood up and went looking for where she'd stashed pain reliever.

-Thunder Strike-

Leo wandered upstairs to go practice. She walked into her bedroom and froze with her hand still on the door. "I...Uh..."

"Hey Holy Smackdown," Austin greeted from where he was perched on her bed. He hung upside down off the side, flipping through one of her music books.

"What exactly are you doing in here?"

"I dunno. I was bored, and Princess and Gutter Punk are being productive. Gross. Computer Q is on the spritz. Ace is hiding somewhere. Probably on the fourth floor. He likes to hide up in the billiard room up there. Did you know this place has a billiard room? So I decided to come visit you, but you weren't here."

"So you just...walked right in and...made yourself at home?"

"Yes." He set the book aside and picked up another from a small stack he had. "By the way, your music selections, are weird. It's all...classical."

"Actually only 54 of my books are classical. Most stem from baroque and romantic periods. Some modern, but only religious peices."

"I stand corrected. But you know what I mean. It's all...musicy."

"Musicy?" Leo asked, walking in more. She sat on her bed, not sitting too close to Austin. She was nervous enough about being alone with him in her room.

"Yeah you know. Proper and stuff. Where's the words?"

"Words?"

"Lyrics!"

"I know what words you're talking about. And I have plenty of hymns-"

"I don't mean your church music. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it, but you never listen to normal music."

"Normal music?"

"Yeah. Some thing a little more...modern."

"I have quite a bit of jazz."

Austin looked at her, half-smirking. "Not exactly what I had in mind."

"What did you have in mind?"

The green ranger sat up and faced her. "You know...popular songs. Rap, hip-hop, Rock. Even some ridiculous, fluffy pop song. Disney music!"

Leo played with the edge of her skirt. "Disney songs are just so..."

"So what?"

"Simple." Austin gave her a look of confusion. "They have the same chord progression. With simple chords I could play when I was five."

"So...what's the point?"

"The point is-" Leo was cut off when their morphers started going off. She jumped up and Austin was right behind her. They pushed the teleport buttons and found themselves in the basement. "What's going on?"

"Demon attack," Quinn analyzed, studying the map of sensors. "There's...major spikes of chaotic energy."

"Has to be more than just Darklings then," Jasper said. He noticed Leo stiffen and she and Chris glanced at each other. _They think Goldy will make an appearance._

"Let's go!" Leo told them. They went over to their bikes and started them up. They rode off; teleporting down to the city.

-Thunder Strike-

As soon as they arrived on the scene, Leo had to swerve to avoid a civilian. _Why are there so many of them around?_ She immediately put her hand to her morpher, and the others followed suit.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five of them yelled. They morphed on their bikes and split up, putting themselves between the Darklings and the civilians.

Leo hopped off her bike, setting it as a barrier between the civilians and the demons. She took out her blaster and started shooting the Darklings. Only the first couple were the most unlucky, as most of them fanned out and tried to surround the red ranger. Leo started shooting them faster, taking them out as they got closer to her. She snatched her weapons tag off her neck and put it in her blaster. "Rain sticks!" She caught her sticks and swung them in opposite directions. She stabbed one of the Darklings with her left hand while she decapitated another with her right. She threw one of them and used her free hand to grab the wrist if a demon that tried to grab her. She kicked it in the chest and forced it back. The came back at her, but she held her hand out and her rain stick came back. It spun through the demon and she twirled as she caught it.

Another ground of civilians was pinned between a wall and the Darklings advancing on them. Chris put herself between the demons and the innocents without hesitation. She grabbed her blaster and started firing as she got off her storm chaser. The people behind her screamed as the demons advanced on them. "Stay behind me!" the blue ranger yelled to them. She inserted her weapons tag into her blaster and gripped her wind fans. She threw one at the Darklings as she jumped into the ground head first. She ducked under and arm and punched the demon in the chest. Her fan came back and she heard someone behind her scream. She spun around and saw a couple of demons had snuck past her. She immediately threw one of her fans and took them out. It got a little close to the civilians, not close enough to hurt them but close enough to give them hear attacks. She looked to the right and threw the right one as the left one cane back to her.

The right one took out a Darkling that had been sneaking up behind Andy. He nodded his thanks and spun around. He slashed three demons with his snow scrapers before they could raised their arms. A strong gust of wind suddenly hit him from the side and knocked him to the ground. He rolled and quickly pushed himself back to his feet. He swung his left weapon through the neck of a demon and scratched his right one off the chest of the next one. He stabbed both of them into another and sprinted forward, running through several more. He threw his right one; sending it spiraling through the head of two more demons. He felt one suddenly grab his arm and jerk him back. He fell on his back and held his hand out. His snow scraper came back and struck the demon in head as it advanced on the white ranger. Andy got to his feet and caught his weapon. He quickly blocked another arm again used his other weapon to hit the demon the stomach.

Austin smirked as he smashed through the demons with his hammers. He thew the right one, then hit another demon in the head. He smashed one, then continued through the whisp into the one behind it. His other hammer came back and he used the momentum to spin around and crank through the chests of the demons that he'd been attempting to surround him. He hit another one in the knee and then hit it over the head. Several hands suddenly grabbed him from behind and threw him with surprising strength. He flew into a mail box and groaned. He saw the demons going after the civilian's he'd been protecting. He snarled and threw both his hammers int their direction. The two weapons criss-crossed as they whipped through the air and flew through all the demons. The green ranger was right behind them, jumping up to grab his hammers again. He hit another through the back; then smashed his other hammer into the chest of another one coming up on him. He heard a sudden cry of pain and looked back.

Pain shot down Jasper's back as he threw himself forward to avoid the demons that were trying to get the jump on him. He grimaced at the feeling of the cement curb smashing into his spine. He gripped his cloud maces and swung one over his head as he got to his feet. He ran at the demons and brought his weapon down on two of their heads. He bashed another in the chest as he side-stepped the next. He swung the ball on his mace and hit the closest one to him. He felt several pairs of hands grab his other arm. _Oh no! Not again!_ He pivoted on his heel as hard as he could and brought his weapon down on all of them. He stepped back and there both his weapons at the ones holding their hands out at him. The maces swung slightly awkwardly through the air and brought down the small group that had been raising their hands at him. He spotted something out of the concert of his eye. "Demon!"

"I see him!" Leo yelled back. She ran after the demon who was approaching some trapped civilians. One half of him was white, the other was black. The two halves met down the vertical plane of his body. His eyes were the opposite of his body. The one on his black side was white and the one on his white side was black. The red ranger flipped over the group and landed in front of them. She took a defensive stance, ready to protect them. "Go! Run!"

"Gah! Don't you dare!" the demon snapped. He raised his hand and it started glowing. Leo quickly fused her sticks together and jumped in front of the light tat shot out at the fleeing citizens. She hit it back at the demon, who jumped to the aide to avoid it. Unfortunately said blast hit Austin the back. He fell forward and Jasper had jump in to help him. "Meddlesome ranger!"

"Leave those people alone!"

"I don't have time to deal with you pests! Guess I'll have to keep you busy." He started lobbing blasts of black and white energy at her. Leo dodged them and hit them away with her rain stick. Unfortunately she couldn't stop all of them and one eventually hit her square in the chest. She stumbled back, putting her hand to her chest. She felt and a burning sensation speared through her body that made it hard to breathe.

"Leo!" Chris yelled. She ran to the red ranger and stepped between her and the demon. Said demon was chuckling. "What did you do to her?!"

"And Austin!" Jasper added as he helped the green ranger stand.

"I gave them a dose of my truth spell."

"Truth spell...?" Andy wondered aloud. "He doesn't mean...oh crap."

The demon laughed. "I'm Canditor and the truth is my business. While under my spell it's impossible to tell anything but the whole truth. That should keep you rangers out of my way for now. Have fun!"

"Get back here!" Chris yelled as she and Andy ran at him. The demon started laughing even more as he started glowing with black and white light respectively. The light got smaller and morphed together, then disappeared.

"He's gone," Andy sighed. Leo forward and took a deep breath. The burning sensation was gone and she could breathe again. Chris and Andy approached her caughtously. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Leo said.

Andy and Chris looked at each other. Leo was such a naturally honest person they weren't sure if the spell had taken effect yet. The three of them looked back at Jasper and Austin who were rejoining them. "You ok Austin?"

The green ranger nodded his head. "My chest still freaking hurts." He stopped. "That...wasn't what I wanted to tell you."

"What did you want to tell us?"

"Does it look like I'm facing ok?" His hands flew to his mouth, even though it was still covered by his helmet. "What the hell?!"

"Yup. The truth spell is working," Jasper nodded.

"We should head back in," Leo told them. "Quinn needs to track that demon."

"Already on it Leo!" Quinn quipped in her ear.

Jasper smiled as they went to collect their bikes. "What would we do without Quinn?"

"Die horrible, fiery deaths." Leo bit her lip. She tried to never be that pessimistic with the team.

Chris shook her own head as the five of them mounted their bikes. _This is going to be a long day._


	45. Episode 15: In the Music Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XV: In The Music

Chapter Two: Nothing But the Truth

A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter!

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and which it is impossible to be silent." -Victor Hugo

Once they are back inside, all the Rangers de-morphed. They got off their bikes and Z approached them. "Everyone ok?" he asked.

"My chest hurts. Dammit!" Austin groaned. "There I go again! It's nothing to be freaking concerned about!"

Z was about to say something when surpsingly, Leo spoke up first. "You shouldn't swear so much," she told the green ranger. "I hate swearing."

"Sorry. Believe me Leo, the last thing I want to do is us let you." He clamped his hands over his mouth forcibly. _God freaking dammit!_

Jasper and Chris smirked. "Someone have a crush on Leo?" the blue ranger asked.

"No, she's not nearly as pretty as you. Fuck!"

Jasper and Andy leaned on each other as they burst out laughing. Chris scowled at Austin. "Very funny Crack Head."

Before he could say anything else Austin clenched his teeth and ran upstairs. Jasper kept laughing. "As far as spells go," he said, taking a deep breath. "This one really isn't so bad. Austin's now worse than he usually is and Leo is...Leo."

Quinn spun around in her chair. "They still need to stay away from me. Harmless or not, this spell is creating chaotic energy. I don't want to pass again all day."

Leo nodded. "I'll go upstairs. I'd really hate to cause you to become sick or hurt. I mean, you are my best friend." She clenched her teeth.

Quinn smiled, clearly amused. "Thanks Leo."

The red ranger nodded, then decided the best course of action would be to retreat to her bedroom. She went upstairs and Chris followed. Andy looked at Quinn. "How much chaotic energy can this possibly create? I mean...truth spell? It's not exactly...I don't know...terrible."

"Maybe right now, but the truth is a dangerous thing."

Z nodded. "Quinn is right. Small, white lies make the world go 'round. You lie all the time to protect your identities."

"That's true." Jasper suddenly gasped as everyone looked at him. "What?"

"I've got it!" the black ranger smiled.

"Got what?"

"I know how to find out who the gold ranger is."

"How?" Quinn asked.

"If she shows up the next time we face that demon, we make sure she gets hit with that truth spell."

"Not a terrible plan," Z agreed. "Just one problem though, you have to hope she shows up for it to work."

"Well if she wants a great opportunity to kill p us, doing it while we have to worry about Leo and Austin is a great time to do it," Andy said.

"That's true I guess. Although we have no way of knowing what her plans are."

"Hopefully next time we see her we'll be able to get more information," Jasper replied.

Quinn nodded. "The more you guys can get the better chance I can figure out who it is."

Andy and Jasper nodded. Both of them knew how anxious everyone was to get the gold ranger mess sorted out. The sooner the better.

-Thunder Strike-

Leo opened the door to her room and was only mildly surprised to see that Austin was in there. "Again? You have a bedroom you know."

Austin shrugged. "I was lonely. Shit!"

"If you swear I'll make you leave. Sorry. That sounded kind of harsh."

The green ranger chuckled. "Don't worry. I've heard much worse than your...harsh words."

"If you're lonely why don't you go talk to one of the other boys?" Leo asked as she sat down on the ground with him.

"Because I like talking to you. Dammit! I really don't mean for this to sound...on any way sexual or...romantic. Damn I sound like Andy now. It's the truth though."

"Why do you like talking to me?"

"You're one of the only true friends I have." He quickly clamped his hands over his mouth. "Maybe I should just stop talking." His voice was muffed by the hands attempting to keep the embarrassing words from coming out. He hated opening up to people. _Opening is a weakness. Weakness can be used against you._

Leo smiled and started chuckling. "Why don't we listen to music? I can play something for you."

Austin shook his head. He smiled and took his hands from his mouth. His idea was too good to keep hidden behind his hands. "Let's listen to my music."

"Y-your music?"

"Yeah. Anything wrong?"

Leo nodded. "Your music scares me."

"Says the girl who fights demons on a weekly basis. Come on. I promise it's nothing...satanic or whatever." Leo gave him a doubtful look. "Hey, I can't freaking lie, so that should count for something."

The red ranger sighed. "Ok, but only if you stop swearing."

"Why does it bother you if I swear?"

"Huh?"

"Why does it bother you if I swear?" Austin repeated as he pulled his iPod out of his pocket. "Can't lie, remember? I genuinely want to know."

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. Everyone always told me that swearing is wrong. So I don't like it when people do it."

"But do you think it's wrong?"

"What?"

"Again, honest question. Do you think swearing is wrong?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't know. You're smart, you should be able to think for yourself. Just because everyone around you tells you what to believe, doesn't mean you should."

Leo crossed her arms uncomfortably. "I don't know. I don't think any less of you because of it."

"So what's so wrong about it?"

"I...it...I don't know."

Austin looked at his iPod, scrolling idly through the music. He smiled and put one of his earbuds in Leo's ear. She looked at him, slightly with alarm. "Don't worry about it. Don't talk, don't think. Just listen." Leo nodded as he selected a song. The two of them laid down on the carpet, Leo making sure to keep a foot of distance between them. She crossed her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes.

_You better lose yourself in the music, the moment_

_You own it, you better never let it go (go)_

_You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow_

_This opportunity comes once in a lifetime (yo)_

_You better lose yourself in the music, the moment_

_You own it, you better never let it go (go)_

_You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow_

_This opportunity comes once in a lifetime (yo)_

_(You better)_

Something squirmed inside of the red ranger. It wasn't...bad exactly. It was just different. She didn't want to like it. The words of her parents an teachers echoed in her mind.

_"Rap is the devil's music."_

_"Leona, your talent is meant for so much more than this."_

_"If you allow yourself to be distracted by trivial genres, you'll never reach your full potential."_

Austin must've noticed the tense muscles because he reached out and put his hand in hers. "Don't think. Just listen."

"Just listen," Leo whispered. She forced herself to relax and focused on the music. She felt every beat in her ears, moving in conjunction with her heart. She felt the music inside of her. Her brain settles into the rythm, tuning out everything else around her. There were so many things in the world that Leo was afraid of; so many things made her unfortable. But music, music always made sense. She lost herself in the notes. She found herself in the flow and rhyme between the music and lyrics. She suddenly sat up; causing the earbud to be ripped out. "I think you should leave."

"What?" Austin sat up too. "Why?"

"Because."

"Leo-"

"I said leave! Don't you ever listen?!" She covered her mouth with her hand sin shock. "I'm sorry Austin. I-"

"No, it's fine." Austin grabbed his IPod and stood up. "People are always telling me to get out." He walked towards the door as Leo stood up. "You don't have to be scared of change Leo. Damn this demon." He clenched his teeth and left the room. _I'm a damn idiot, _he thought as he walked to his room. _A real fucking moron._ He wondered vaguely if the truth spell worked on his thoughts too. _I bet it does. I bet it fucking does._

-Thunder Strike-

Chris sat next to Quinn as the latter girl typed away on her computer. "What do you mean you can't track the demon?"

"I thought that sounded pretty self-explanatory."

"But...but you have to find the demon. It's the only way to help Leo."

"And Austin."

"Yeah. Him too...I guess."

"As much as your concern for a member of the team moves me, there's nothing I can do. Look at the map!" She gestured to her monitor that contained a map of the city and multiple red lines emanating from single points of origin. "The problem with this particular demon is that the truth spell is causing more chaos. Every time an affected person interacts with someone else, they spread chaotic energy. So my sensors aren't able to pinpoint the exact location of the demon. The energy he's creating is masking his location."

Chris sighed. "That's a lot of chaotic energy flooding the city."

Quinn nodded. "Unfortunately. I'll keep looking for the demon though. I might be able to pinpoint his location by looking at each individual sensor and figuring out which are being set off by chaotic energy and which are being set off by the demon."

"That sounds like it could take a while."

"Good point. It would go faster if you guys go out and search the points I narrow it down to."

"Sounds good."

"Go get the others."

Chris nodded and got up. She went upstairs and Quinn looked back the monitors. _Where are you hiding? Where are you hiding?_


	46. Episode 15: In the Music Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XV: In The Music

Chapter Three: Harmony

A/N: Hey guys! I finally, finally finsihed this chapter. Wasn't nearly as productive this week as I'd hoped to be. But I'd di get this done so there's that. Hope you guys enjoy it!

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and which it is impossible to be silent." -Victor Hugo

Chris knocked on Leo's door. "Leo!" she said. "Quinn needs us to help find the demon." She went in and found the red ranger sitting at her keyboard, which wasn't strange. What was strange though, was the fact that she was just staring at it and not playing. "Leo? Is everything ok?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't know."

"Why?" Chris asked, walking closer. She watched as the red ranger slowly lifted her hands and started playing. She played slowly, so slowly, making it hard for Chris to figure out what song she was playing. Normally she didn't always know what songs Leo was playing, but she found she did recognize this one. "Um...Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you feel ok?"

"I'm not sure."

Chris reached out and put her hand on her friend's forehead. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"Why?"

"Because you're playing an Eminem song. I didn't even think you knew Eminem exsisted."

Leo smiled. "I didn't until twenty minutes ago." She stopped suddenly and went back to staring at the keyboard.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You were doing really good."

"I don't know. Do you ever feel...like...maybe...things are much different than they thought you were? Or maybe that...the people who were always trying to help you might not actually be helping you?"

"How so?"

"Like...your family. Do you ever think that they were trying to help you, but in doing so they're not...allowing you to grow?"

Chris considered it for a moment. "Not really I guess. Why, what brought this on?"

"A song Austin made me listen to."

"Of course Austin is involved. If he's giving you life advice Leo, I wouldn't take it."

"It's not that he was giving me life advice. The music just...spoke to me."

"It spoke to you?"

"Yeah. And I didn't like that. I'm not supposed to like hat kind of music."

"Not supposed to as in...not allowed?"

"Yes. And because I'm a prodigy. My talent is better served focusing on...music that ain't so trivial."

Chris furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you really think that?"

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to think?"

The blue ranger sighed. "You know Leo, you don't always have to think what everyone wants you to think."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...how do I put this? You are your own person. And you have the right to think what you want. No one has the right to dictate who you should be but you."

"But...if I'm not who they want me to be, then who I am?"

Chris sighed. "Unfortunately that's something you'll have to figure out for yourself. Come on," she squeezed the red ranger's shoulder. "We have to go down to the city and scout for the monster."

"Alright, let's go!" Leo stood up, suddenly looking more sure of herself. She left he room and Chris followed close behind. The two of them went down to the basement and found the boys were already waiting for them. "What're we doing?"

"I've narrowed the demon's location down to two locations," Quinn explained. "I need you guys to check them out in order to find him."

"Got it. Let's go guys." The Rangers followed Leo over to their storm chasers. "Quinn, can you send us the coordinates?"

"Already done."

"Alright, good." Leo got on her bike and looked at her morpher. "Chris, take Jasper and Andy to the location by Winter Street. Austin and I will take the one by Kordeen Plaza."

"You got it Leo," Chris nodded. The Rangers started their bikes and drove out, teleporting out to the city.

Upstairs, Z was heading for the basement to help the Rangers. He quickly out in the code that unlocked the door, but frowned when it didn't. He put it in again, but the light stayed red. "That's not right," he muttered to himself. He tried a third time, but got nowhere. He realized that he had no way to try and tell Quinn that the lock was broken. He sighed gently tapped his fist against his forehead. "Love my life."

-Thunder Strike-

Once they were in the city, Leo realized how awkward it was being alone with Austin. The green ranger hadn't said anything to her, and she widened if he was angry with her. "Austin-" she began but her cut her off.

"I think we should morph," he said simply.

"Uh...yeah. Let's do that." They stopped momentarily to turn the sides if their morphers and push the faces.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the two of them yelled. They drive off again as soon as they were able, finishing their morphs in their process.

They drove through the streets, looking for any signs of the demon. Leo cleared her throat. "I feel as though the lack of people out in the streets is a sure sign of the demon's presence here."

Austin nodded. "Yeah...seems like it."

Leo was about to say something when she heard people screaming. She took off towards the noise with Austin right behind her. They turned a corner, stopping when they saw the demon. Leo immediately shot forward on her bike, shooting the demon from it. The blasts hit him in the chest and he stumbled back.

"Rangers!" Canditor hissed. "Draklings, descend!"

Austin found himself surrounded by Darklings and growled. _I'm so not in the mood to deal with you today. _He revved the throttle and shot through them, turning back around to face them again.

Leo quickly pushed the communication button on her morpher. "Chris! We found the demon!"

"Ok!" Chris replied. "We'll be right there." The blue ranger looked at the black and white. "We have to go. Leo and Austin found the demon."

"Let's go then!" Jasper replied. The three of them were about to leave when something shot out of nowhere and hit Chris in the foot.

"Ah!" she yelled falling on the ground.

"Chris!" Jasper and Andy shouted, getting off their bikes. They went to help the blue ranger, who was now pinned beneath her storm chaser. Chris struggled to get out, but the pain in her ankle and foot was making it hard. She looked at something behind the boys and went rigid.

"Guys look out!"

Jasper and Andy spun around, taking their blasters out as they did. They immediately dove to the sides, causing another blast to hit Chris' bike. The two boys got up, keeping their blasters trained on the gold ranger walking towards them. Her blasters were both aimed at the three Rangers.

"Who are you?!" Jasper demanded. "What do you want?!"

"I'm the Sun Storm Ranger," the gold ranger replied, her voice distorted. "I want to destroy you."

"Why do you want to destroy us?" Andy asked her. "We're all Rangers, we're on the same side!"

"No, we're not! You stand against the Chaotic Storm Empire, while I stand with it. You are a rebellious force intent on destroying Emperor Stormicon, so I was created to destroy you!"

Jasper and Andy didn't move, but merely tighter their grips on their blasters. It was evident to them that this gold ranger wasn't an ally. Chris sat forward and pushed her bike off of her foot. She slid it out and stood up carefully behind the boys. The gold ranger put the end of her blaster into the other blaster. She pointed the now longer weapon at the Rangers. Jasper glanced down at his morpher and saw that his meter was reading high levels of chaotic energy. He quickly grabbed his dog tag and quickly inserted it into his morpher.

Sun Storm Ranger saw this and pointed her weapon at him. She shot at him, but he activated his super storm tag. "Super storm, upgrade!" he shouted. "Cloud storm defender!" Andy slipped behind the black ranger as he raised his shield. The blast from the gold ranger was absorbed by his cloud defender. He stumbled back from the force of it and feel. Chris quickly caught him and helped him stand up right.

"Scatter!" the blue ranger said. The three of them split up, spreading themselves around their adversary. She looked around at them as Andy and Chris trained their blasters on her.

She started chuckling. "You really think you can take me?" she inquired, a tone of amusement making Jasper tighten his grip on his shield.

"Three on one?" Andy asked. "I like those odds."

Sun Storm laughed. "I don't care about the odds." She took her blasters apart and flipped one around. She threw them in the air and held her hand out. "Solar disc!" She caught the golden frisbee and spun, throwing it at Chris.

Meanwhile, across town, Leo was blasted backwards by Canditor. She picked herself up and grabbed her weapons tag off her back. "Rain sticks!" she twirled the tricks in her fingers, tightening her grip on them as she ran at the demon. She hit him once, but he grabbed her other stick as she swung it at him. She jerked her weapon free and swiped at his neck with them. He stepped back and raised his hands again. He caught the red ranger's weapons again and wrapped his hands around them. He lifted his arms, picking Leo up off the ground. He threw her into a car. She hit the hood, feeling it crumple beneath her body, and rolled off on the other side.

"Leo!" Austin yelled. He kicked the last Darkling in the chest and shot it in the chest. He took out his weapons tag and inserted it into his blaster. "Lightning hammers!" he shouted, summoning his weapons. He ran at Canditor, swinging his weapons. "Don't! Touch! Her!" He hit the demon with each word. Canditor caught his hammer on the last hit and swung the green ranger into a wall. Austin hit it with so much force he felt it crack behind him. He cried out in pain and de-morphed.

"Austin!" Leo yelled. She fused her rain sticks together and jumped back into the car. She ran and jumped at Canditor, swinging her weapon at his head. He caught the weapon and swung her into the same wall he'd just swung Austin into previously.

"Ah!" She landed next to him, gritting her teeth. She forced herself to focus anywhere but the pain coursing through her body. "Austin, you ok?"

"Uh huh," he grunted. "He's...fucking...strong."

Canditor laughed as he looked at them. "The truth is the strongest force in existence! It's also the most painful!" Leo sighed inwardly. It worked in an annoyingly, poetic way. She used her rain stick to push herself to her feet. She ran at Canditor, who chuckled as he caught her again. He twisted Leo around and wrenched he rain stick out of her hands. She suddenly found herself trapped as he put her weapon against her throat. She struggled as he pulled it harder, cutting off her air. "You're a terrible ranger, you know that? You're weak. All of you r angers are weak!"

Leo struggled and grabbed at the weapon, trying to get free. _He's right, _she thought. _I've been at this for how many months? And I can't even beat this one demon by myself. I'm supposed to be the leader!_ Unfortunately that wasn't the only voice in her head.

_"Good girls don't fight Leonna."_

"Good girls don't fight," she whispered.

"Don't worry, you can't fight," Canditor sneered.

"Don't...don't listen to him Leo!" Austin yelled, trying to get to his feet. He used the wall to help himself stand up.

"Tell me, red ranger, would the ones who told you that be proud of why a you're doing now?"

"No!" Leo gasped, still trying to get herself free. _Curse this truth spell!_

"I thought not!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Austin snapped. "Leo, he might tell the truth, but it's a bunch of shit! You're an awesome ranger! It doesn't...it doesn't matter what your family would think of you! You're a badass! You just...you have to accept that!"

Leo clawed at her rain stick, trying to free herself. She closed her eyes and tried to focus herself. She moved her hands away from her throat and wrapped them around the ends of her weapon. _If I want to be a good ranger, then I need to accept the fact that I am one, _she told herself. _Keep acting in the face of fear._ She released the rain stick and spun around on her heel. She drove her elbow into Canditor's side and he stumbled back. She kicked him in the chin, snapping his head up roughly. She jumped up and flipped over him, grabbing her rain stick out of his hands. She landed behind him and immediately stabbed him with me end of her weapon.

Austin grinned as Canditor jumped in surprise. He pushed the communication Hutton in his morpher. "Yo, Andy! Where the hell are you guys?"

"Uh...ah! We got a little sidetracked," Andy's voice replied through the morphers. "Just keep holding him off! We'll be there as soon as we can!"

Austin rolled his eyes and pushed himself to his feet. He watched as Leo spun and ducker under the arms of the demon that were attempting to snatch her stick again. He grinned. _Well I can't let her have all the fun. _"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

On the other side of town, Chris heard Jasper cried out in pain. She lifted her head and saw the black ranger had been hit with the solar disc. He struggled to push himself to his feet again. He took a deep breath and heaved himself up. He st,bed a little but, kept his footing. Chris copied him, doing her best to keep her feet under her. The Sun Storm ranger sighed and looked around at them.

"You Rangers just don't stay down," she observed. "Interesting."

"Interesting? How?" Andy asked.

She shrugged. Her disc started glowing and she threw it in the air again. "Heat wave!" she shouted, jumping in the air. She kicked the frisbee and it zoomed in a circle around her. It hit all three Rangers, Chris first, then Jasper, and finally Andy. They were all thrown backwards and de-morphed from the force of the blast. Chris winced when she felt the burned skin on her stomach. She lifted her head and watched the gold ranger catch the disc. She sighed. "Times up. Again. You Rangers get to live to see another day." With that she disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Jasper groaned as he slowly pushed himself up onto his knees. "Is everyone ok?" he asked, slightly out of breath.

"What's your definition of ok?" Andy replied, attempting to push himself up. He cried out in pain and dropped back down to the ground. He carefully lifted his hands and saw that his palms were covered in severe sunburn. "Forget it, I'm not ok."

"She's powerful," Chris observed, slowly getting to her feet. She looked down and saw the red skin of a sunburn on her chest.

"Tell me about it," Jasper agreed. He got himself the rest of the way up and they went over to Andy.

"She really kicked or butts. Hard," Andy said as his friends stooped done and grabbed his arms.

"We noticed."

"Nothing we can do about it now," Chris told them. "Come on, lest go help Leo and Austin."

Andy and Jasper nodded as the three of them headed for their bikes.

Back with Canditor, Leo was finally gaining the upper hand in their battle. She spun and struck him down again with a hit across the chest. He got to his feet and she grabbed her super storm tag. "Super storm," the red ranger yelled, inserting it, "upgrade! Rain storm crosser!" She pointed her crossbow at him and started firing. She hit him twice in the chest, and he ran at her. She jumped up and flipped over him, shooting him from above as she did, then quickly shot him in the back as well. "Downpour Strike!" She ran at the demon and hit him with her crossbow, then shot him in the face. He stumbled back in pain, groaning.

"Stupid Ranger!" he yelled. "You'll pay for that!"

"Not so fast!" Chris shouted as she, Andy, and Jasper drove onto the scene. She stopped next to Leo and dismounted. "You ok?"

Leo nodded. "I'm good." She saw Jasper and Andy helping Austin to his feet. The team regrouped and Canditor faced them.

"You Rangers can't be me! It's the truth and you better believe it!" he shouted.

"Super storm upgrade!" Chris, Andy, and Austin shouted, morphing into their super storm modes.

"Rain storm crosser!"

"Cloud storm claw!"

"Lightning storm axe!"

"Ice storm striker!"

"Cloud storm defender!"

"Super Storm Strker!" the five Rangers chorused together. Leo felt her friends' hands on her shoulders, followed quickly by their energy. She focused her attention on the demon and pulled the trigger. "Fire!"

Canditor reached his hands out and tried to catch the shot of multiple lights spiraling around each other. Unfortunately for him it was much more powerful than their ordinary weapons. It went straight through his hands and into his body, making him stumble back. "How could you beat me?! How?!" he demanded as he exploded.

"Finally!" Austin sighed. "Now we just need him to grow back-" Before he could even finish his sentence the giant funnel cloud descended and resurrected Canditor.

"You Rangers are going to be sorry you messed with me! And that's the truth!"

"Thunder zords, online!" the five Rangers yelled, activating their zords. "Thunder Strike Megazord!"

Canditor laughed as he caught the first fist the Megazord threw at him. It quickly followed up with the other fist. It hit him, but didn't seem to faze him much. Canditor simply laughed again and pushed the Megazord back. It dug it's feet not the ground, trying to resist, only resulting in tearing up some of the street. It then quickly fired two blasts, one from each hand, at Canditor. He simply caught both of them and sent them back at the zords. It stumbled back under the it's own fire, knocking the Rangers around.

"Should we fire again?" Andy asked.

"Why?! So that he can throw them at us again?!" Austin demanded.

"Call the storm chasers!" Leo ordered.

"Storm Chasers, online!" the five Rangers shouted in unison. "Storm Chaser Megazord!"

Now armed with a weapon, the Megazord swung it's tire spear at the demon. Canditor dodged it easily, being more agile than the Megazord, and blasted it with one of his truth rays. Not being organic, it didn't have the spell effect, it merely damaged the zords. The Megazord spun around and managed to hit Cnaditor in the head. He cried out and stumbled, giving the Megazord a chance to make the wheels on its spear spin. It blasted Canditor back when it hit him, but he simply returned fire on the Rangers. The Megazord managed to hit a couple of the blasts away with its spear, but most of the blasts hit the Megazord. The Rangers quickly tried to simultaneously stabilize themselves and block the shots being fired at them.

"We need more fire power!" Austin shouted.

"Gee, you think?" Chris asked, rolling her eyes. "I say we call an extra zord?"

"Extra zord?" Jasper asked, "Is that what we're calling them?"

"Let's focus on the fight!" Leo reminded them. She braced whereof against her controls as they were hit again.

"Leo, we need a plan, now!"

"I...uh...um..." The red ranger sighed. She still wasn't used to fact that when things went south, which they did far too often in her opinion, everyone looked to her for what to do. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. _I need to focus! They're counting on me! _She opened her eyes and saw Austin arguing with Andy about whether or not they should start pushing random buttons. Despite the situation, she smiled. The green ranger always gave her support. He believed in her without any hesitation. She clenched her fists even more. _Why can't I just accept this role?! Why is it so hard for me to be the red ranger everyone needs me to be?! _She sighed because deep down, she knew the reason. Because she was still that quiet girl who didn't want to disappoint her parents._ I am the red ranger. I can't a change that. No matter what they would think, or what anyone would think, I'm a power ranger now. And I need to be a good power ranger. Better than good, I have to be the prodigy I was born to be. I can't allow the perceptions of other people to stop me!_

"Whoa Leo!" Andy smiled, pointing at the red ranger. Everyone else looked at her, causing them to be bombarded again now that they were looking away from their controls. Leo looked down at herself and saw that she was covered in a glowing red outline.

"There!" Austin shouted, pointing at the sky. The glowing crack had appeared in the sky, and a burst of golden light. Out of the golden light appeared a new zord that Leo didn't quite recognize.

"What is it?" she asked, analyzing the red feline like animal.

"A cougar!" Andy replied excitedly. "Very fierce."

"Yeah...a definite quality I associate with Leo," Chris replied affectionately.

The cougar landed in front of the Megazord and snarled at Canditor. It pounced at him, digging its claws into his chest and raking them down to his abdomen. He stumbled back and it jumped off him. Leo held out her hand and the cougar jumped up towards the Megazord. The storm chaser parts literally just jumped off the Megazord. The cougar stretched out its legs and the Megazord caught it in the abdomen and held it like a staff.

"Rain cougar Megazord!" they yelled.

Canditor blasted them with his truth spells again, but is time the Megazord hit the spells back at him with ease. It swung the spear and the claws at the end scratched him. He stumbled back and the Megazord advanced on him quickly. It swung the staff around and hit him again with the top end, and then with the back end. It stabbed the staff into Canditor's stomach, following it quickly with anther uppercut hit. It then slashed at his neck with the staff and he put his arms up to try and grab the weapon. The Megazord took a step back and brought the staff down faster and harder than he could catch it and he nearly fell when he stumbled back.

"Let's finish him!" Leo told them.

"Rain Cougar Strike!" they yelled. They all flipped the third switch and the Megazord flew up into the air. It started spinning the staff weapon around and flew down at the demon. He held out his hands, but the weapon went straight through them and through him.

"No!" he yelled. "There's no way you could've beaten me! No way!"

"The storm has passed!" Leo shouted in victory. She high-fived Chris and Austin and smiled. "Woo!"

-Thunder Strike-

Later that day, Quinn sighed and shook her head as she examined the lock on the basement door. "I don't know what you think happened earlier, but this lock isn't broken."

"But it wouldn't let me in!" Z objected.

"You must've been putting the access code in wrong."

"I wasn't! Maybe the code doesn't woke anymore."

"Hey! I take offense to that! I designed this lock specifically for that code. Or may be it was vice versa...anyways, there's nothing wrong with it!"

"Don't let the fact that you're the creator stop you from seeing the very obvious flaws."

"Actually I think you're the flaw."

"Hey!"

Meanwhile, upstairs, Austin took a deep breath before he knocked on Leo's door. He heard the music within stop; then came her voice, "Come in." He walked in and saw that Leo was at her keyboard. He approached her cautiously, sitting down next to her.

"Hey," he said at last.

"Hey," she replied softly. "Austin I'm really sorry-"

"Don't. You don't have to apologize."

"But I should! I shouldn't have-"

"I've been treated a lot worse than being semi-politely asked to leave a room."

"But that the thing! I shouldn't have been so mean to you. I just want you to know that it wasn't because I was angry with you or anything like that."

"You weren't?"

"No. I was...overwhelmed." Austin gave her a 'go on' motion and she looked at her keyboard. "I know everyone probably thinks that being...a prodigy makes life easier. That...having an outstanding skill will make everything easy. But it's not easy. Being good at music doesn't make me good at math or English. It makes everyone expect a lot from you. I want to be the perfect daughter that my par nets want me to be. To be good at all the right things in all the right ways."

"Well that's fucked up. No offense. You shouldn't have to be anyone but the person you want to be. Regardless of what they want for you, they should respect what you want for you."

"It's not really that easy."

"I know it's not."

"But I also understand what you're saying. I think...I feel like maybe I can try to...be my own person. Figure who I really am underneath who I'm supposed to be."

"That's good. Although I can tell you from personal experience that it's not that easy to discover who you are. It takes time and a lot of patience."

"I've always considered myself to be someone who has plenty of patience."

"I'd say so, there's no other way you could possibly put up with me."

Leo giggled. "Austin?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For always believing in me."

"Hey what goes around comes around as they say. So what were you playing when I came in?"

"Oh just...something I've been writing."

"You compose? Don't look so surprised I know big words. Can I hear some of it?"

Leo grinned and started simply playing.

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time on Power Rangers Thunder Strike: Japser accuses Austin of stealing from him, even though the green ranger denies the accusations. If only someone would believe him.


	47. Episode 16: Honor Among Friends Ch1

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVI: Honor Among Friends

Chapter One: The Accused

A/N: Hey guys! I so meant to finish this earlier, but I accidentally killed my iPad, which is where I was writing ALL my fics. So I had to write this one over again on my laptop. Let's all take a moment to be thankful my lists of episodes and monsters were saved on my icloud notes, so I could access them on my phone. Otherwise, I would've probably had to have put this on hiatus until I got that fixed and rewrote the lists and made sure storylines were all there. But I did get this written, so let's move on with the story!

"Like so many other things, its not the outside, but the inside that counts." -Merchant, Aladdin

Jasper groaned as he looked under his bed again. He shoved boxes aside in frustration. "Where is it?" he muttered under his breath. He sat back on his heels and looked around. _Closet_. He got up and went over to his closet. He jerked clothes around on their hangers to look at the whole space. "Where is it?!"

"Where's what?"

Jasper stepped out of his closet and saw Andy standing in the doorway of his room. Before he could say anything though, Austin appeared at the white ranger's shoulder. "Nice to see you come out of the closet." He started laughing manically at his own joke while the other two boys just rolled their eyes.

"You know, you remind me of the Joker sometimes," Andy commented mildly.

The green ranger looked at him grinning. Andy took a step back when Austin tilted his head to the side and asked, "Why so serious?"

Jasper sighed exasperatedly. "Don't you have to be useless and annoying somewhere else?"

"Ouch, not feeling the aster."

"Aster?"

"Young Justice?" Andy supplied.

"Young what?"

"You've never seen- that's it I'm done!" Austin declared, throwing his hands in the air and walking away.

"He as a definite screw loose," Andy observed.

"A? More like a few."

"What're you doing?"

Jasper had resumed his search in his closet, tearing through it. "Looking for my baseball!"

"Baseball?" Andy stepped into his room. "Why is that so important? Aren't those like...a dime a dozen?"

"Not this one."

"Why?"

Jasper sighed again and stuck his head out. "One time when I was eight, my dad won tickets to a baseball game. And I brought the only baseball I had and I got it signed by Sean Rickman!"

"...who?"

"You've got to be kidding me. Sean Rickman? The Blinding Batter? Best hitter in the history of the Red Hawks? The Magnetic First Baseman?"

"Do I seem like the type of person who watches or even knows how to play baseball?"

"Valid point. Ok, imagine you had your book signed by your favorite author. Now imagine that book is missing. See?" He nodded at the stricken look on Andy's face. "That's why it's such a big deal!"

"Want some help?"

"Really?"

"Sure. If we work together we'll find it faster."

"Hard to argue with that logic. Get to work."

Andy nodded and went to the bench by Jasper's window. He lifted the cover of it and started gently moving stuff around, trying to both look and respect his friend's privacy.

-Thunder Strike-

Emperor Stormicon studied Sun Storm's last fight with the rangers critically. His eyes followed his gold ranger as she took down three of them. "Her power increases as she fights more."

"But she never finishes them off!" Hurricous shouted. "She always leaves before they're destroyed!"

"That may not be Sun Storm's fault," Blizzitor pointed out. "If the host is fighting the powers, that would complicate things."

"I thought the host was unaware of Sun Storm's presence?"

"She is," the emperor growled. "But there is another power in her, trying to fight the chaotic energy of Sun Storm's powers."

"What kind of power?" Tornidon inquired. "It'd have to be very strong to be fighting the chaotic energy subconsciously in the host's mind."

"Can't we just give Sun storm more power?" Hurricous asked impatiently as he crossed his arms.

"It's not that simple. If we just flood the body with chaotic energy we risk damaging or even destroying the host."

Stormicon nodded. "Blizzitor, I want you to study this power. Find out if it can be stopped, or better yet, be used for us."

Blizzitor nodded. "I shall my emperor." He bowed low and turned on his heel, an easy feat when you're made of ice, and left the throne room for his lab.

"Tornidon, Hurricous, send down a demon. Keep the rangers on their toes."

"Yes Sire," the two answered bowing. They left the throne room and continued down the stairs to the demon room. As they entered, Tornidon took a moment to admire how much fuller the walls had become in recent weeks. They split up, each looking for the right demon to send to cause some trouble at the very least.

"Here," Hurricous said at last, pointing his staff at one of them. Tornidon joined him and studied a drawing of a multicolored demon that had scribbles of human languages on it.

"Doesn't look too deadly, but who knows. We might get lucky."

Hurricous nodded and pointed his staff at the picture. "Chaotic energy, give this demon life!"

-Thunder Strike-

Eventually, Jasper and Andy had to admit defeat. They sat down in the middle of the black ranger's room; which had been turned upside down and inside out. Twice. "Maybe it's somewhere in the house," Andy suggested optimistically.

Jasper just shook his head. "It would take us a week to search the whole house. Let's face it, it's gone. My most prized possession and I lost it!"

"Lost what?" Chris asked, leaning on the doorway.

"My baseball."

"A signed baseball by some famous player," Andy added at the blue ranger's puzzled expression.

"You mean like the one in Austin's room?"

"What?!"

"Yeah. He's got a signed baseball in his bedroom. I was just there-" She didn't finish as Jasper shot to his feet and practically ran from the room.

"I see this ending well," Andy decided as he stood up as well. "How'd it go with Z today?"

The blue ranger shrugged. "Moderate success. I think it will take some more time though."

"More time? We've only got...what a week?"

Chris nodded. "It's not a lot of time to get him on our side, but hey, we've faced worse odds."

"Ain't that the truth."

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper burst into Austin's room without bothering to knock. The green ranger shot him a dirty look, which Jasper would've found annoyingly ironicif he hadn't been so mad. "I know you have it, so give it back."

"Give what back?" the green ranger asked, setting down the comic he'd been reading.

"My baseball! The one signed by Sean Rickman! Give it back now!"

"I don't have it!"

"Yeah right! Chris said she saw a signed baseball in here. It's my most prized possession Austin, give it back!"

"I don't fucking have it!"

"Give it back!"

"Dude!" Austin jumped to his feet and stood in front of the older boy defiantly. "I. Don't. Fucking. Have. It. So chill the fuck out!"

"why should I believe you?!"

"Because why the fuck would I want to steal any of your Goodwill crap?!"

"Because you're a punk who only cares about himself!"

"I don't have your freaking ball!"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't!"

Andy and Chris came running in. "What's going on?" Andy asked.

"Gutter Punk here thinks I stole his stupid ass baseball!"

"Well did you?"

"NO!"

"I did see a baseball over there," Chris pointed out. "It does have Sean Rickman's name on it."

The four of them looked at the shelf she was pointing at and sure enough, there was a signed baseball sitting on a small pedestal. "Aha!" Jasper said, waling over to it,. "So you did take it!"

"No I didn't! That one's mine!"

"Yeah, sure it is." Jasper picked it up and Austin groaned.

"Don't fucking touch my stuff!"

"Except this doesn't belong to you!"

"Except it does!" He looked at Chris and Andy. "You guys believe me, right?"

"No," Chris replied. "You've stolen from me tons of times."

"That was months ago! Ace, you believe me, don't you?"

Andy rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry Austin, but I'm going to have to agree with Jas on this one."

Austin's mouth dropped open in shock. "This is unbelievable! I ought to-" He was cut off by their morphers going off. "We'll finish this later."

The four of them pushed the teleportation buttons on their morphers and teleported down to the basement. Leo was already down there, looking at the monitors over Quinn's shoulder. "What'd we got?" Chris asked.

"Demons," Quinn answered. "Looks like darklings mostly."

"But those are usually followed by a specialized one," Leo pointed out.

Quinn nodded. She could feel the unasked question in the room. "There's no sign of the gold ranger."

"Good, we still don't have the means to deal with her yet," Jasper said darkly.

"Let's go!" Leo ordered, leading them over to the bikes. They all hopped on and powered them up. They drove out, teleporting down to the city. Z came downstairs and stood behind his niece.

"No Gold Ranger?"

"No, not yet." She glanced up and noticed the pensive look on her uncle's face. "You still want to tell Dad, don't you?"

Z nodded. "I think we're out of our depth on this one."

"Would you rather admit to him that you broke his explicit orders to keep me out of the ranger business?" Z didn't have a reply for that. "We'll figure it out, we always do. Besides, Dad's busy in Amber Beach. We wouldn't want to interrupt his oh so important business."

Z winced at the bitterness in Quinn's voice. It made him think back to his conversation with Chris and Leo earlier. He shook his head and focused on the battle. They, or rather he, could worry about that later. At the moment they had more pressing issues to be focused on.


	48. Episode 16: Honor Among Friends Ch2

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVI: Honor Among Friends

Chapter Two: Multilingual Rangers

A/N: Hey guys! I got another chapter done. Just so you know, all the foreign language used in this episode was translated via translation sight. If there's a dire mistake, I apologize in advance. Also: Leo-Italian; Chris-Greek; Jasper: French; Andy-Korean. Read on and enjoy!

"Like so many other things, it's not the outside, but the inside that counts."

Austin shot Jasper a dirty look as they drove through the city to the attack. He caught Leo's eye and the red ranger shook her head. He huffed and turned his attention back to the attack. They drove through an alley and came out into an open plaza filled with Darklings and civilians. Austin wasted no time taking his anger and frustration out on the demons. He parked his bike and hopped off. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" He grabbed his blaster and started firing at them rapidly. He shot one in the chest, then shot the one next to it as well. He smacked another in the face and shot it in the head as he shot in the head. He punched another, smiling at the satisfying way the clouds dissipated from the impact. He kicked another one and spun on his heel. He shot three more then grabbed for his weapons tag. "Lightning hammers!" He gripped his double weapons raised them.

He brought them down on the head of one demon, then through the chest of another. He saw a group of teens trying to run away, but some Darklings were blasting them with wind. He threw one of his hammers, trusting it to find a demon and ran towards the teens. He grabbed the Darklings by the arm that had pinned down one of the girls in the group. He smashed it in the head with a hammer and helped her to her feet. "Go!" he shouted as he held out his hand and caught his other hammer without looking. "Get out of here!" He slammed his hammers into the more demons, drawing their attention away from the teens. "GO!" The five of them took of running as the green ranger continued taking out his frustration on the demons.

Meanwhile, Leo ducked as a demon tried to grab her. She dropped to the ground and swept it's feet out from under it. She jumped up and whacked it in the chest with her rain stick. She spun around and brought her stick up; slamming into its head. One of the Darklings had had enough courage to grab her weapon, but she simply lifted it up and slammed the demon into the ground. She felt the hair on the back of her suit stand up, quite a feat in spandex, and spun around. Her eyes popped at the demon who caught her weapon. He had busts of color all over his body and what looked like words in different languages. She recognized a couple, Italian and French for instance. She cleared her head and tried to jerk her stick free.

"Hahaha," the demon chuckled darkly as he watched the ranger struggle. Leo switched tactics and kicked her stick. She broke it in half and stabbed the free end into the demon's abdomen. He snarled and hit the red ranger in the chest with the palm of his hand. Leo was thrown back several yards and hit the ground. A word in green glowed in her chest for a second before disappearing. Leo frowned. _What was that? _

"Leo!" Chris shouted running over to her. She helped the red ranger to her feet. "Are you ok?"

"Sto bene," Leo replied, looking down at herself. "Non ho idea di ciò che egli ha fatto, ma non mi sembra che abbia funzionato. Qualunque sia stata la."

_"I'm fine. I have no idea what he did, but I don't think it was effective. Whatever it was."_

Chris stared at Leo, giving her a look of disbelief. "Leo...English!"

Leo frowned. "Inglese? Io sono-" She stopped. _Oh my gosh...why am I speaking in Italian?!_

_"English? I am-"_

"Guys!" Chris yelled while Leo kept ranting in Italian. "something's wrong with Leo!"

"What's wrong?" Andy asked, ducking under the demon's arm. He struck the demon with his snow scrapers and managed to make him stumble back a little bit.

"She isn't speaking in English!"

"What-" That distracted Andy long enough for the demon to hit him. He slammed his open hand into the white ranger's chest, same way he did to Leo. Andy flew backwards and hit the ground hard. He groaned as something purple glowed on his chest. It disappeared before he could get a good look at it though.

"You good?!" Chris asked him.

Andy nodded as he got to his feet a little unsteadily. "음. 무슨... 저 맞고...나를...?" He blinked. His words didn't sound...like English. "거룩한 똥!"

_"I'm good. What...was that...she hit...me with... Holy shit!_

"Andy, stop messing around!" Jasper snapped as he and Chris attacked the demon together. Leo was still saying random words, trying to get them to come out as English. The black ranger swung his maces at the demon from one side while Chris attacked from the other side. She threw both her fans at him, then watched in shock as he caught them almost effortlessly. He threw the weapons to the side and the blue ranger took a fighting stance. She threw a punch at the demon who avoided her easily. Before she could react he blasted her in the chest the same way he had for Andy and Leo. Chris moaned when she hit the ground.

"Can we stop getting hit with the weird glowy words?" Austin demanded in exasperation as he ran to help Jasper with the demon. Chris watched as some word that was glowing with orange light disappeared.

Chris pushed herself to her feet. "Δεν είμαστε προσπαθεί να χτυπήσει με σκοπό! ...Ω έρχονται!" she shouted.

_"We aren't trying to do it on purpose! ...Oh come on!"_

Austin shook his head and rolled his eyes. He dodged past Jasper and swung his left hammer at the demon. He managed to land a hit, and immediately followed it with his right hammer. He stepped back as Jasper swapped place with him and managed to land two more blows with his maces. The demon grunted and hit the black ranger with both palms. Jasper shouted in pain as he thrown back several yards. Andy ran over to help him while Austin kept up his assault on the demon. Andy reached Jasper and watched as a green word glowed on his chest for a minute before disappearing.

"기분은 어때?" he asked as the black ranger wrapped a hand around his torso. Usually a sign of broken ribs with them.

"Je n'ai aucune idée de ce que vous dites," Jasper replied as he stood up shakily. He winced at the flaring pain in his chest. "Ce que... Génial, tout simplement genial."

_"I have no idea what you're saying. What... Awesome, just awesome."_

Austin did he best to ignore the multilingual party that was going on behind him. "How did you do that?!" he demanded, deflecting the demon's hand away with his hammer. He had no desire to be speaking in some unknown language for the rest of the day.

"I am Lingalnous!" The demon replied. "Languages ae my thing!"

"Yeah well I'm the green ranger, and protecting the world is mine!" He jumped back as the demon reached for him again. "Nice try Buddy, but I'm nit as slo as everyone thinks." He spun around, hitting both hammers against the demon. Lingalnous stumbled back and Austin pursued him.

"Austin!" Jasper shouted. " Ne soyez pas insouciante! Vous avez besoin d'un-"

_"Austin! Don't be reckless! You need a-"_

"J'aimerais vous soucier de vous-même Frenchy!" Austin snapped, staying on course to attack the demon.

_"I'd worry about yourself Frenchy!"_

Jasper stopped in his tracks in shock, and so did the demon. _He understood that? ...Austin speaks French?!_

"Aww man!" the demon whined. "You can understand him?! Now I definitely have to put the spell on you."

"So not gonna happen." Austin threw one of his hammers and hit the demon in the head.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Lingalnous jumped up and down holding his head. "Oh, I'll get you for the Green Ranger!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Austin went on the offensive again, but Lingalnous held out his hands by his sides. A funnel cloud appeared beneath his feet and lifted him up. He flew away and Austin watched him go with equal amounts of frustration and relief. "Coward!" The rangers all de-morphed and Austin ran to see if they were ok.

"Austin, perché non il mostro di ottenere anche voi?" Leo asked. Austin blinked.

_"Austin, why didn't the monster get you to?"_

"What language is she using?"

"저도 잘 모르겠어요. 나는 사용하고 어떤 언어를 알지 못한다!" Andy replied waving his arms.

_"I don't know. I don't even know what language I'm using!"_

"Okay... I think we should head back to the house." He was at least glad everyone still understood English, even if they couldn't reply in it. They headed over to their bikes and got on.

"Ελπίζω Quinn να φτιάξουν αυτό," Chris said as she started her storm chaser up.

_"I hope Quinn can find a way to fix this."_

"Nous avons vraiment besoin de Quinn pour nous aider," Jasper muttered.

_"We really need Quinn to help us."_

"Ne vous inquiétez pas. Si quelqu'un peut résoudre ce c'est Quinn," Austin replied.

_"Don't worry. If anyone can fix this it's Quinn."_

Jasper gave him a look again. He'd had no idea Austin was bilingual. The whole juvenile delinquent look he had made it very difficult to believe. They rode away from the battle sight; teleporting back to the house.

-Thunder Strike-

They arrived in the basement and Quinn was there to greet them, as usual. "We have a problem," Austin told her as he and the others disembarked from their bikes.

"Yeah I could hear that on the coms," she replied. "Do you guys still understand me?" The other four rangers nodded. "But you can't respond in English?" They shook their heads. "Alright then. Leo stay down here with me, the rest of you stay out of my way."

"당신은 무엇을 하겠습니까?" Andy asked.

_"What're you going to do?" _

"나는 녀석이 홍보하도록 도와 무언가를 만드는 거야. 되길 원합니다."

_"I'm going to build something to help you guys communicate. I hope."_

The rangers all gave each other looks. None of them were honestly surprised Quinn spoke multiple languages.

"Well, I'm going to my room. Let me know if you figure something out."

"Hey! Je ne suis pas fini avec vous à partir plus tôt!" Jasper yelled at him after watching him walk away for a minute.

_"Hey! I'm not finished with you from earlier!"_

"Au sérieux? Quel est votre problème?"

_"Seriously? What's your problem?"_

Quinn looked at Leo. "Does Austin have to start a fight with everyone in the house?"

"We'd better go make sure they don't kill each other," Z said. "Come on." Andy and Chris followed him upstairs, leaving Quinn and Leo downstairs alone.

"Let's get to work." Quinn grabbed Leo's hand and led her over to one of the work tables. Leo sat down on a stool and watched Quinn thinking, but part of her was thinking back to Jasper yelling at Austin.

_I hope they can work it out. The last thing we need right now is infighting. _


	49. Episode 16: Honor Among Friends Ch3

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVI: Honor Among Friends

Chapter Three: Untrustworthy Austin

A/N: Hey guys! I finally got this one finished! I hope you all enjoyed it!

"Like so many other things, it's not the outside, but the inside that counts." -Merchant; Aaddin

Austin tried to go back to his room and ignore Jasper. He really, really tried. Unfortunately, Jasper was being very persistent in his pursuit of the green ranger. He managed to snag Austin's arm on the third floor.

"Dude, what the hell is your problem?!" Austin demanded.

"Mon problème est que vous avez volé mon baseball!" Jasper replied.

_"My problem is that you stole my baseball."_

"Combien de fois dois-je vous dire, je n'ai pas le prendre!"

_How many times do I have to tell you, I didn't take it!"_

"Jasper! Austin!" Z yelled coming up the stairs. "What are you fighting about?"

"Austin a volé mon prisé le baseball!" Jasper told him.

_"Austin stole my prized baseball!"_

"He thinks I stole his stupid baseball," Austin explained at the confused look on Z's face.

"Did you steal it?"

"NO! Why doesn't anyone in this place believe me?!"

"Gee, je me demande pourquoi," Jasper told him, rolling his eyes.

_"Gee, let me guess."_

Austin growled. Chris and Andy came up and eyed the situation apprehensively. "You guys know I didn't take it, right?"

Andy rubbed the back of his neck. "죄송합니다 오스틴. 그러나 아직은 아닙니다."

_"Sorry Austin. But no."_

Chris just shook her head, figuring that there was no point in trying to talk. Austin groaned. He threw his hands in the air. "Forget it! I give up! There's no way to convince you people that I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Nous donnent une raison pourquoi nous devrions croire que vous! Vous causent toujours des problèmes, vous ne pensez jamais à qui que ce soit mais vous-même! Vous avez été arrêté pour avoir volé! Pourquoi devrions-nous vous croire?!" Jasper demanded.

_"Give us one reason why we should believe you! You always cause trouble, you never think about anyone but yourself! You've been arrested for stealing! Why should we believe you?!" _

Austin stared at him with an emotion that Jasper couldn't quite decipher. The green ranger turned and stalked away. He slammed his bedroom door shut; and locked it for good measure. Jasper shook his head and stalked off to his room. Z went downstairs and Chris went to her own room. Andy hesitated for a moment before going to Austin's door. He knocked.

"Go away!" Austin snapped.

"오스틴, 나는..."

_"Austin, I-"_

"I have no fucking idea what the fuck you're saying Andy, but go the fuck away!"

Andy stepped away from the door. _Man, no one can talk to Austin when he gets like this. Well...one person can. _He smiled to himself and headed for the stairs.

-Thunder Strike-

Tornidon was irritated. It was bad enough the gold ranger hadn't made an appearance while the rangers were fighting Lingualnous. But her lack of an appearance was making it difficult for him to locate her. to make it even more difficult, it was as if the host disappeared into thin air once Sun Strom retreated from a battle. He sighed and waved his hand over the head of his spear. He looked back over her battles. He considered himself a scientist, and as such was well versed in many truths of universes and magic.

_It's fascinating, _he thought to himself as he watched Sun Storm fight the rangers, _how the people of this world believe magic and science are so different. They miss so much knowledge by refusing to believe in the balance of the two. In the simple principle that they are two halves of the equation. _

He nodded to himself as he compared Sun Storm's abilities with the rangers'. "Her power is...comparable. Maybe this unknown power isn't stemming from the chaotic energy. Maybe it's stemming from the...ranger side of her powers."

He waved his hand in front of his spear again and changed the image. He smiled. "Yes. That's it. If her power is comparable to that of those pesky rangers, then I know how to harness that power, and amplify it for our own good."

-Thunder Strike-

Leo sighed before knocking on Austin's door. "Austin-"

"Go the fuck away! Christ, can't anyone leave me alone?!" Austin snapped from inside.

The red ranger flinched, but set her nerves and knocked again. The door opened and Austin glared at her. "What do you want Leo?"

The red ranger opened her mouth, then remembered that the only thing she could say would be in Italian. Instead, she decided that words might not be the best option. She reached out and took his hand. He jerked it back snarling at her. Leo took a deep breath and pushed past him, stepping into his bedroom. He spun around and grabbed her arm. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Leo stared at him evenly, never breaking eye contact. Austin hesitated for a minute before letting go. Leo knew he didn't do it because she intimidated him, she wasn't an intimidating person by an definition of the word, but she knew it was because of his respect for her. "Just...tell me what you want and go. Please."

Leo looked around, trying to ignore the uncharacteristic moment of weakness that Austin had showed. She found a notebook on his desk and opened it up. She picked up a pen and wrote down 'I don't want to accuse you of anything. I just want to talk,' she wrote down.

Austin smirked. "I see you found a way around the spell."

Leo smiled at him. 'Tell me what's going on.'

"Everyone thinks I stole something from Jasper. And I didn't!"

'And no one believes you?'

"Yes." He paused and gave her a look. "Do you believe me?"

Leo thought about it for a moment. 'I want to.'

"You want to?'

'Austin, you know I think you're a good person, but you do have a reputation.'

"But I really didn't do anything this time!"

'This time. But you've done stuff like this before.'

"So?"

'You know what they say. One lie spoils a thousand truths.'

"Don't I know it." He turned away and sighed. "You irritate me, you that?"

'How so?'

"Because I can never stay mad at you. You treat me...different than everyone else. You treat me like a person instead of a failure."

'You're not a failure Austin.'

"I'm pretty sure my parents and my brother would disagree with you on that." He sat down on the edge of his desk. "That's why it's so annoying when you're nice to me. You make me want to be a better person. But that's just someone I can't be."

Leo frowned in confusion. 'Why not?'

"Because all anyone sees is a hooligan. I live up to all their expectations just by existing. And that's all anyone will ever see is a hooligan. I've never regretted the decisions I made until...well until I met you. Everyone always treated me like a delinquent, except you. But I can't be anyone else Leo, because to everyone, this is all I am. And they're right. I'm not a saint."

Leo reached out and put her hand on his. 'Austin, you aren't a saint, but that doesn't make you a bad person. And you're not lost beyond saving. no one is.'

"I think you're wrong about that."

'I'm not. A very good friend once told me that we don't have to follow the outlines in life that others have set for us.'

Austin looked up at her in shock, but before he could say anything their morphers started beeping. "Looks like Quinn found the demon. Let's go."

-Thunder Strike-

Lingualnous laughed gleefully to himself as he cast more spells on the humans. He slammed his palm into another man and watched as he fell backwards. He started rambling in the random language that had been forced on him. The man took off running, screaming in his random language. "Run humans! Run away and spread chaotic energy all over the city!" He was suddenly hit from behind with a blast and stumbled forward. He turned around and saw the rangers riding towards him.

"Hey Freak!" Austin shouted. They stopped in a line and got off their bikes. "Take the spell back right now!"

"Can't! Destroying me is the only way to get rid of it!"

Austin grinned wickedly. "I was hoping you'd say that."

The five rangers raised their morphers.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" Austin yelled.

"THUNDER GRÈVE, AVERTISSEMENT DE VENT DE TEMPÊTE!" Jasper shouted.

"THUNDER STRIKE, AVVISO DI TEMPESTA!" Leo yelled.

"THUNDER STRIKE 폭풍 경보!" Jasper shouted.

" THUNDER απεργία, καταιγίδας!" Chris yelled.

"Pioggia rossa ranger!" Leo yelled.

_"Red rain ranger!"_

"Μπλε ranger ανέμου!" Chris shouted.

_"Blue wind ranger!"_

"Green lightning ranger!" Austin yelled.

"하얀 눈이 Ranger!" Andy shouted.

_"White snow ranger!"_

"Nuage noir ranger!" Jasper shouted.

_"Black cloud ranger!"_

"Clear skies are straight ahead!" Austin shouted, taking out his blaster and shooting at the demon. He ran towards him, as the demon raised his hand.

"Darklings descend!" he shouted. Funnel clouds deposited Darklings and the other Rangers spread out to take them down. Austin stayed focused on shooting at Lingalnous. He felt someone grab his arm from behind. He towsted around, fully prepared to shoot the Darkling in the head. Instead he found Jasper and felt for a second the black ranger had just gotten very lucky.

"What the hell do you want?" Austin demanded.

"Ne pas faire quelque chose de stupide! Vous-" Jasper began but Austin waved his hand dismissively.

_"Don't do something stupid! You-"_

"Détendre dude. Faites-moi confiance juste cette fois. S'il vous plaît."

_"Relax dude. Trust me just this once. Please."_

He could tell Jasper was hesitating, but then the black ranger nodded. "Ok. De quoi avez-vous besoin?"

_"Ok. What do you need?"_

"Il suffit de garder le Darklings occupé. Je vais traiter le traducteur là-bas."

_"Just keep the Darklings busy. I'll handle the translator over there."_

"Vous avez tout compris."

_"You got it."_

Austin turned back to the demon and started firing at him. He let the others were fighting the Darklings, leabing him to deal with Lingulanous. He fired again, but Lingualnous held up his hand, making a glowing red word appear. It blocked the blast, which bounced off the shield and back at Austin. He quickly stepped to the side to avoid getting hit with his own attack. He kept firing, but Lingualnous kept deflecting the attacks with his glowing words. Austin jumped back as he suddenly threw one of these words at the green ranger. It exploded on the ground in front of him and Austin was thrown off his feet. He rolled to the side as another one almost hit him.

_Somehow I don't think these ones will just cause me to start talking in another language. _He threw himself to his feet and instantly had to throw himself back down again. A glowing flew where his head had jus been. He waited a second, then ran to his feet. He sprinted at Lingalnous and put his weapons tags in. He summoned his lightning hammers and swung them at Lingualnous. The demon took a step back and raised his hands up. A word suddenly blazed to life and Austin hit it right on. The word blocked the hit and the green ranger's hammers bounced right off. He stumbled back, but just kept attacking. He swung his hammers time and time again, trying to get around the shield of words that the demon was protecting himself with. Eventually, Lingualnous started throwing words at Austin again. He used his hammers to hut them away, but it was getting tiring.

The words had a lot of power in them. He could feel it as they hit against his hammers. _I need more power. _He glanced at is morpher and his heart filled with dread. He didn't have nearly enough chaotic energy. _Damn. I need more power. _An idea came to him suddenly. It was a stupid idea yes, but an idea none the less. He shrugged. _Well, looks like it's my only option. _"Hey Freak! Is that all you got? I've seen these brainless foot soldiers hit harder than you!"

Jasper looked over at Austin. _What the hell is he doing?_

Austin kept talking, doing what he knew he did best. Being annoying. "Your pathetic words don't scare me! They're weaker then you are!"

"Be quiet!" Lingualnous shouted back, throwing more words at him. Austin barely managed to keep them from hitting himself.

"Oh ow. That was so scary."

"I said quiet!"

Austin smiled when he saw the four word combo coming towards him. He saw each of the words was a different language; and that was the last thing he saw before it hit him in the chest. Pain exploded over his body as his feet left the ground. He screamed in pain as it suddenly found its way to his head. He could fell all four languages trying to control his brain all at once. Then suddenly it was gone. He blinked and saw Leo and Andy's helmets blocking his view of the sky.

"Austin! Stai bene?" Leo asked, concerned laced in each of her words.

_"Austin?! Are you ok?"_

Austin nodded as pushed himself to his feet. He looked at his morpher. The chaotic energy meter was full. He smiled to himself, ignoring the pain that still lingered in his...everywhere. He grabbed his super storm tag and pulled it off. He out it in his morpher. "Super storm, upgrade!" he shouted. "The erratic lightning! Super storm green!" He kept a tight hold on his axe and ran at Lingualnous. _They must think I'm out of my freaking mind. _ He didn't really care though. He swung his axe at the demon, who once again raised a word to protect himself. Austin brought his weapon down and hit the word. He cut straight through it and hit a very shocked Lingualnous.

"What?!" the demon demanded as he stumbled back. He raised his hands again, but Austin hit this barrier and broke it just as easily as the last one. He quickly swung it from the side and hit the demon again. He kept up his attacks, keeping Lingualnous from hitting him again. "That attack should've-"

"Should've what?!" Austin asked as he hit the demon again, cutting him off. "Made me speak in tongues? I don't think your little spell could've worked because it was made of too many languages." He spun around and hit the demon again. Lingualnous stumbked away from him as Austin's friends joined him; having finished off the Darklings. "Let's finish this guy off!"

"Tempesta di pioggia crosser!" Leo yelled.

_"Rain storm crosser!"_

"Άνεμος storm συμπεριστροφής!" Chris shouted.

_"Wind storm claw!"_

"Lightning storm axe!" Austin yelled.

"얼음 폭풍 스트라이커!" Andy shouted.

_"Ice storm striker!"_

"Cloud storm defender!" Jasper yelled.

_"Cloud storm defender!"_

"Thunder Striker, ready!" the rangers all shouted in their own languages. Leo turned to Austin before he could out his hand on her shoulder. She held it out for him and cold practically see the pride in his stance. He took it from her and pointed it at the demon. He felt Chris and Leo each place a hand on his shoulder. Jasper and Andy placed their hands on the girls' shoulders respectively.

"Fire!" Austin yelled as he pulled the trigger. He felt the energy surge through his body and the blaster. The multi-colored lights fired through the air and struck Lingalnous.

"Agh!" he screamed. "You're going to regret this green ranger!"

"I don't think so," Austin smirked as the demon exploded. He lowered the blaster and his friend's dropped their hands.

Leo smacked him on the shoulder. "What in the world were you thinking?!"

"Ow! when did you get so violent?"

"She's right, you're an idiot," Chris told him.

"Hey I said I was gonna defeat him, and I did. I'm a man of my word. At least...I want to be."

Jasper felt his stomach twist. But before he could say anything, the demon came back.

"There aren't enough languages to convey how big of a mistake you rangers have made!"

Austin scowled. "Let's get this guy!"

"Thunder Zords, activate!"

"Thunder hawk zord!"

"Thunder tiger zord!'

"Thunder bobcat zord!"

"Thunder fox zord!"

"Thunder falcon zord!"

"Thunder Strike Megazord!"

As soon as they were in the Megazord cockpit, the Rangers set to attack. The Megazord swung one of it's arms at him, but he blocked it with a glowing word. It followed with the other arm, but the demon managed to block that one too. The Megazord took a step back, then leapt forward and took another swing at him. He simply blocked this yet again, causing the fist to bounce off of the shield he'd created. This caused the Megazord to stumble backwards and he took the opportunity to hit the Megazord with one of his glowing words. It hit the fighting machine in the chest and blasted it backwards. He sent another one at them and the Megazord rasied one of it's arms. The explosion didn't knock it around, but Austin practically jumped out of his seat.

"My controls are fried!" he told the others.

"At least the Megazord isn't speaking French," Jasper muttered a he and Andy did their best to keep the Megazord stabilized.

"Chris, keep firing on him," Leo told her.

"No don't-" Austin sighed as Chris fired at the demon, who of course used a word shield. It bounced off at back at the Megazord, which Leo quickly piloted into the sky to avoid being hit again.

"You giys do realize that these things don't grow on trees right?" Quinn asked in their ears.

"Definitely not the time Q," Austin told her. The Megazord flew from side to side, trying to avoid all the words that the demon was throwing at them.

"Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you," Andy muttered as he Jasper kept their hands on their controls the entire time. "Never hurt you my ass."

Austin groaned. He knew it would take a lot of power to break through the shields and land a hit on him. _We could always call the storm chasers, but my controls are toast at the moment. _His friends did their best to keep the Megazord from being destroyed and Austin couldn't do anything to help. He wanted to throw something. _I said would defeat this monster! I told them I could! If I want them to trust me, I have to prove to them that I'm trustworthy, but there's no way for me to do that! _He sighed and set his hands on his controls again. _I don't care if they're fried. I have to try. The trust and companionship of my friends is worth trying for. Always._

The green ranger blinked, then discovered that he was glowing with a green light. The other Rangers all turned to look at him. Austin kept his grip on his controls and allowed the light to enter them. He watched as his power levels went back. The light was fixing his damaged controls! He looked out side of the Megazord and a gold crack snaked its way across the sky. He watched as a green coyote flew out of it and stood on the ground next to the Megazord. Austin smiled as he suddenly found himself in the cockpit of the new zord. He was sitting cross-legged with one control on ether side of him; both of which were in the shape oh hands. He set his own hands down on them and willed the zord forward.

It pounced at Lingualnous, who put up a word shield. He waited for the zord to bounce off it, but instead, it scraped at the shield with its claws and broke through.

"What?!" Lingalnous asked in surprise as he quickly moved to avoid the zord. The zord stalked towards him, almost appearing to be growling. It leapt at him again, and scratched his hands. He went to hit it with one of them, but the zord bit him. He howled in pain and fell back. The zord took advantage of his lapse in concentration to bite the other hand.

"Good boy," Austin smiled. "Better get back to the others." He focused all of his energy and found himself back at his controls in the Megazord cockpit. He smiled at his friends. "Ready to fry this guy?"

"Without a doubt," Andy replied.

Austin held out his hands, summoning the zord to them. It jumped up, then spread out all four of its legs. The head became a new helmet for the Megazord, and both halves of the body formed triangles with the legs attached to it. The Megazord grasped both of the triangles.

"Lightning Coyote Megazord!" the five rangers yelled. They all flipped the third switch on their panels and the Megazord flew up into the air. As it came down at Lingualnous and swung both of the triangles on to the demon. The first one hit and then the second, then the Megazord kicked him in the head.

"Curse you Green Ranger!" Lingalnous yelled. "Cure you!"

The Megazord landed as he exploded for a second time. The Rangers all cheered.

"Fuck yeah!" Austin smiled as he high-fived Andy. He leaned back and Lo gave him a high-five as well. "The storm has passed!"

-Thunder Strike-

Someone knocked on Jasper' door. "Come in," he said. The door opened and he frowned. "Shouldn't you be in bed?'

"Since when do I listen to directions?" Austin asked. He winced as he limped over to Jasper's bed. He was wearing nothing but his pajama pants. His torso was heavily bandaged due to his stunt from earlier. "Besdies, I have something to give you."

"Oh?" Jasper's eyes widened as Austin placed a baseball in front of him.

"Before you say anything it's not yours. This one is dated on the back, see?" He pointed it out and Jasper nodded as his stomach twisted much like before. "Its mine. And I want you to have it."

"What...really?!"

"Yeah. I don't really like it. My dad got it signed for me when he took me to a game once." He snorted "Once. Anyways, since yours is gone, I thought you'd like to have it."

"I-thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"You really didn't take it, did you?"

"No, I didn't. But if I were you, I wouldn't have believed me ether."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm not stupid. I know that I'm not trustworthy. But I really want to be. At least for you guys. Everyone else can go fuck themselves."

Jasper chuckled. "Well...thanks."

"Any time. I should head back now. Before Leo catches me out of bed. Have you noticed the glare she's been developing?"

Jasper nodded. "Scary." He watched as Austin slowly turned away, then asked, "How come you and your dad only went to one game?"

"Huh?" Austin looked back at him.

"You said took you to a game once. Why only once?"

"We can afford to go more than once. It was just...that was one of the few timed he actually spent time with me. Just me and him. Usually he's working or fighting with my mom, so it was a nice change of pace."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I usually go to games alone."

"Well that's no fun."

"Yeah. Hey! Do you want to go with me?"

"..."

"Once we defeat Stormicon and his groupies, you and me should go to a game. My family has a box we can use."

"Seriously? That'd be awesome!"

Austin smiled. "Cool. It'll be nice to have some company."

"I'm sure. Thanks again Austin, now go get some rest."

"I am. Night."

"Good-night Austin." Jasper sat back on his bed and picked up his new baseball. He admired it carefully, smiling. _My most prized possession._

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: The rangers convince Z to let Quinn go out into the city with them for her birthday. But their day doesn't go quite as planned. Meanwhile, the Gold Ranger gets a new weapon to increase her power against the rangers.


	50. Episode 17: Sweet Sixteen Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVII: Sweet Sixteen

Chapter One: Dream Come True

A/N: Hey guys! Guess who graduated high school on Friday? I did! Now I've got a summer ahead of me with plenty of time to write, so yay! I'm very excited about this episode so let's get to it!

"Independence is happiness." -Susan B. Anthony

Quinn woke up and pretty much jumped out of bed. She ran out of bedroom and made a beeline for Leo's room. "Leo! Leo! Leo!" she shouted, jumping up and down. "Leo wake up!" She waited with baited breath as the red ranger's door opened.

"Quinn?" Leo asked, sleepiness still evident. She blinked. "What time is it?"

"I don't know!"

"It's 6 fucking am!" came a shout from Austin's room.

"SO?! We need to get downstairs! Let's go, let's go!" She ran to the stairs and sat on the banister. She slid down it, spiraling down the stairs. She hopped off when she reached the bottom and sprinted towards the kitchen. She found Z and ran up behind him. "Good morning!"

Z laughed. "Good morning!" He turned around and returned her hug. He gave her a kiss on the head. "Happy birthday Quinn."

Quinn started bouncing again as she sat down at the island. The rangers all filed in, looking like they were still half asleep.

"Happy birthday," Leo smiled as she sat next to her friend.

"I really should've gotten you an alarm clock," Austin muttered as he sat down and put his head on his arms.

"What's for breakfast?" Jasper asked. "Also happy birthday."

"Chocolate chip pancakes," Z replied. "Quinn's favorite."

"Yup!" Quinn smiled.

"Sounds delicious," Andy said.

"I have such big plans today! We're gonna play tag on the fourth floor. Then we're gonna play cards and-"

"Actually Quinn, I think we might be doing something a little different this year," Z told her as he put a couple pancakes on a plate for her.

"What'd you mean?"

"Well...because it's your birthday, you're going to spend the day with the rangers. Outside the house. In the city."

"..." Quinn stared at him. She screamed and all five of the rangers jumped.

"Dammit! There goes my hearing," Austin muttered.

"Really?!"

"Yes. Here, eat breakfast first."

Quinn was bouncing up and down again as she started eating. "This is really happening?!"

"Yes, it's really happening. Now eat, your pancakes are going to go cold."

Quinn squealed and Austin managed to pick himself up enough to get a couple pancakes.

-Thunder Strike-

A mere 30 minutes later, Quinn was getting dressed at light speed. She put on her favorite gold sequin vest; admiring the way it shimmered in the morning sunlight. She squealed and jumped again, quickly going for her hairbrush. She started brushing her black hair, putting it in a ponytail with quick ease. She put her glasses back on and bolted from her room. She ran to Leo's door and knocked on it rapidly.

"Leo! Leo! Leo!" she shouted.

The door opened and the red ranger gave her an amused look. "I really should have you sound-proof my room."

"Are you ready?!" Quinn bounced into the room past Leo.

"Almost, but you're not." Leo nodded at her bare feet. "You need shoes."

"Huh? Oh yeah...I guess I do."

Leo frowned at the sudden decrease in Quinn's attitude. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, it's just...I don't own any shoes."

"You don't have any shoes?"

"Why would I need any? I've never gone outside before."

Leo smiled. "That's no problem. Sit." Quinn sat down on her bed as Leo went through her shoes. "You're a little taller than me, so I don't know if my shoes will fit you." She thought of something and grabbed a pair of socks too. "Put these on first." She threw them to Quinn then went back to getting her onw shoes on.

Quinn put the socks on, then tried to put the shoes on. She slipped her foot into the first one, then discovered that she couldn't put her heel in. "Um...Leo?"

Leo turned around and smiled. "Yeah, I didn't think it'd fit. Let's go see Chris." Quinn jumped up and grabbed Leo's hand; pulling the Red Ranger out the door. They arrived in front of Chris' door in a matter of seconds and Quinn started knocking on it rapidly. The door opened and Chris gave them a mild look of amusement.

"I'm going to humor you because it's your birthday," the Blue Ranger told her.

"Quinn needs shoes and I don't have any that fit her."

"Hm...she's closer to my height anyways." Chris opened her door wider and let her friends in. She went over to her closet while Leo looked around. She didn't usually go into Chris' room. There were posters of some dancer named Misty Copeland and dance trophies filling an entire bookcase. She realized she was still holding Quinn's hand and blushed a little bit. She let go and steered her friend to sit on Chris' bed. Chris came over and handed Quinn a pair of blue and white sneakers. "Try these."

Quinn quickly snatched the shoes out of her hands and put them on. She smiled as they fit well. A little big, but she figured she'd be fine. "Yay! Now I'm ready!"

"Um...tie them first."

"Oh, right." Quinn quickly grabbed the laces on one shoes, then paused for a minute. "How?"

Chris blinked. _Did our mechanical engineer and genius-prodigy extraordinaire just ask how to tie her shoes? _She looked at Leo, who simply smiled. She knelt down and started tying the shoes. "Don't worry," she said. "We'll get you some Velcro shoes another time."

Once she was done Quinn jumped to her feet and grabbed both their hands. "Let's go! Let's go!"

"Whoa, Quinn careful!" Chris told her. She dragged the two of them at beak-neck speed to the other side of the floor where the boys' rooms were.

"Jasper! Austin! Andy! Let's go!"

Austin opened his door and came out looking much more awake than he had earlier. "You need to slow your roll," he told Quinn as he fixed a piercing into his cartilage. He then hooked a chain onto his belt loops so it hung down the side of one of his legs. Jasper and Andy joined them, both dressed and looking ready to for the adventure they knew was waiting for them.

"I'd suggest we teleport down to the basement before she forcibly drags us down there," Andy advised.

"I can't teleport, but you guys do that and I'll meet you down there," Quinn told them. She took off for the stairs before any of them could say anything.

"We'd better get down there."

"We're going to regret convincing Z to le us do this, aren't we?" Jasper asked.

Leo chuckled. "Let's go before she self-combusts," the red ranger advised. They lifted their morpher hands and teleported down to the basement.

-Thunder Strike-

Z sighed as he paced in Quinn's Lab, as the Rangers frequently called it. He ran a hand nervously through his hair as he did. _If Tommy finds out what I'm doing...oh who am I kidding, of course he'll find out. Oh God...Oh boy..._ It wasn't that he was scared of his big brother per say...but when your brother was a former power ranger five times over and martial arts _expert..._well it made him an intimidating person. Unfortunately for him, Z was continually forgetting that he was just as much an expert as his brother was. Possibly more so since he'd spent most of his teens years studying at an advanced martial arts academy and held several regional, state, and national championship titles. He'd been in the running for a world title when he put his career on hold to raise Quinn once his brother had mysteriously come back on vacation from college with a baby he hadn't left home with.

He sighed and squeezed his hands together in front of his mouth. It wasn't just Tommy he was worried about. He thought of Quinn almost as a daughter. He had raised her after all, giving him a closer bond to her than most men would have with their nieces. Admittedly...arguably better than the one she had with her father due to his lack of involvement in her life. _She's never been outside before. She has no idea what it's like out there. What if she gets lost? Or kidnapped? Or killed?! Oh God this was a terrible idea! _He heard pounding on the stairs and turned around to find Quinn beaming at him.

"I'm all ready to go!" she grinned. A second later the rangers teleported down into the basement.

"Seriously! How does she do that?!" Austin demanded.

"Not important,' Z told them as he picked up one of Quinn's temporary morphers, a research device intended to gather data and burn out after a few uses, and put it on her wrist. "Ok, before you leave, a couple of round rules need to be established. Number One: Under no circumstances should you go off by yourself. Stay with one of the rangers at all times. Number Two: Don't talk to strangers. Number Three: If there's an attack, don't fight. No matter what. Just hide. Number Four: Don't tell your father. Under any circumstances. And finally, Number Five: make sure you have fun."

Quinn smiled and gave her uncle a hug. "Thank you Z!" She joined the Rangers, grabbing a hold of Leo's hand.

"Alright! Let's get this thing moving! It might be the longest day of the year, but we're burning daylight!" Austin told them. He set a coordinate in his morpher and shared it with the others. Quinn beamed at Z.

"Bye!" she waved before she and the others teleported away.

Z smiled, sitting down at her computers, since he was on monitoring duty that day. Being able to spy on Quinn was an added bonus. _For once I hope the demons can just leave us alone._

-Thunder Strike-

Once they were in the city, the Rangers led Quinn out of the alley they'd teleported into. They all jumped slightly at the gasp she gave. They expected something to be wrong, but instead all they had was Quinn staring at the buildings around her in awe.

"You gonna be ok?" Jasper asked her.

"Look at all the buildings!" she gushed, bouncing on her heels.

"Let's go so we can get supplies and head out," Austin said, leading the way.

"What're we doing today?"

"Anything you want, it's your birthday," Andy told her.

"Really? We should go to a park! I've always wanted to go to a park! And can we go to the beach? And I want to play tag!"

"We can do all that," Chris assured her. "But later on we have a surprise for you."

"Really?! What is it?!"

"If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," Jasper told her, echoing what he'd often had to tell his younger siblings.

"Ok, I guess that's true. Where are we?" They'd stopped in front of a large house.

"My house," Austin replied. He led them up the front steps and into his house. "Don't worry, my parents won't be home and my brother left for Turtle Grove weeks ago, so we're all good." He spread his arms dramatically. "Welcome to Hell. Or, home, as I sometimes used to refer to it as."

"Used to?" Chris asked sharply.

Austin walked away scowling. _Like I'll actually admit that the Manor feels more like home than this mausoleum ever did. _"Just hang here, I'll be right back." He went upstairs, leaving his friends in the front hall.

"What's he getting?" Quinn asked, looking around in curious.

"Our financial support for the day," Andy said. "Anyone else expecting him to come down stairs with a big sack with a dollar sig on it?"

"Or possibly a briefcase filled with cash," Jasper replied.

"Alright!" Austin declared as he came back down the stairs. He now had a drawstring bag on his back. "Who's ready to party?"

"That bag is filled with cash?" Leo asked him.

"Why yes it is. My parents would be able to track my credit card."

"Ok, where did you get the cash and two, you have a credit card?" Andy asked as the green ranger led them through a side door and into a very spacious kitchen.

"The cash is from one of the safes upstairs, for business people my parents have a weird opinion of banks. And yes I have a credit card. I don't make a habit of carrying around large amounts of cash." He led them through another door that led into a spacious garage. It was filled with a couple of nice cars and a row of motorcycles line up along one wall.

"Nice bikes," Chris commented.

"My brother went through a phase when he was sixteen." Austin went over to a bunch of keys hanging on hooks by the door. He studied them for a moment before carefully selecting five.

"Is this what you meant by 'I have transportation we can use for the day'?" Leo asked him.

"Indeed it is." He was now dropping keys into helmets that were siting on a self. After he dropped a key in each helmet he threw it to one of the rangers.

"So we're just taking these bikes?"

"You make it sound like we're stealing. I have permission to tell you to use them. Plus I took them out all the time when I was twelve." He kept the final key for himself and grabbed tow helmets. He handed one to Quinn then pointed the others to their chosen vehicles.

"How come I can't drive one?" Quinn asked as she got on behind Leo on one.

"Because this morning you couldn't tie your shoes." They all put their helmets on and Austin opened the garage door.

"Wait, we don't have licenses," Jasper pointed out.

"You're just now thinking of that?" Andy asked him.

"Dude, we drive the storm chasers all the time. I think we'll be fine," Austin replied. "Where we heading first?"

"Holdsworth Park," Leo said, thinking of the largest park in the city. She heard Quinn squeal and smiled.

"Let's go then!" Chris said as they pulled the visors down over the helmets. They had the added ability of obscuring their identities and ages. The rangers started up the bikes and expertly rode them out to start their day of adventure.


	51. Episode 17: Sweet Sixteen Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVII: Sweet Sixteen

Chapter Two: A Fun Day Out

A/N: Alright we finally got another chapter ready! I hope you're enjoying the episode. Read on!

"Independence is happiness." -Susan B. Anthony

Quinn was just so excited about being out in the city that she was bouncing up and down in her seat. Leo smiled. "Quinn, you need to sit still!" she yelled, wishing she could use the communicators in the morphers.

"Sorry! I just- oh my god a dog! Leo I wanna pet the dog!"

Leo laughed and focused on the road. She had to admit, it felt nice to be driving around the city without having to be going to or from a battle. Quinn wrapped her arms tighter around the red ranger, hugging Leo to her chest. The action made the red ranger shiver a little. Leo swerved a little but didn't crash. "You ok?" she asked Quinn, thinking that her friend's actions were being caused by fear.

"I'm great! Everything is so- oh my gosh another dog! Leo I really want to pet a dog!"

"Maybe later! Just don't pet random dogs, ok? They might bite."

"Ok!"

Leo felt Quinn tighten her arms again. Her grip wasn't uncomfortably tight or anything. It felt...nice. The red ranger shook her head ad focused on driving. _Why is my heart pounding like this? Must just be because of what we're doing. Even though they weren't doing anything explicitly wrong, minus the laws they were breaking by riding the motorcycles, she still felt really nervous about being out in public on one. She always felt more confident when she was in her ranger suit._

"Was that a cat?!"

-Thunder Strike-

"Why are the rangers so happy today?" Hurricous whined. "Their happiness making me ill."

"You're a demon, you don't get sick!" Tornidon snapped.

"Quiet fools!" Blizzitor told them. He went back to navigating through the city with his staff. "We need to find the host."

"Why is one human so hard to find?"

"She's always hard to find. We should've picked a host that's easy to find in a crowd," Hurricous muttered as he looked into his own staff.

"Technically we didn't Choose her, the Sun Stone did."

"I told you two to be quiet!" Blizzitor snapped. "We need to focus or the emperor will start collecting chaotic energy from us!"

"How about we send down a demon to disrupt the rangers to lure Sun Storm out," Hurricous suggested.

"Hmm...not a terrible idea. Tornidon, go take care of it."

Tornidon huffed as he gripped his staff and stalked off to the demon room.

-Thunder Strike-

Once they arrived at the park, Leo barely had time to park before Quinn had hopped off and was running. Leo smiled and took her helmet off. She grabbed her key, then she and the others followed Quinn to the middle of the park. She was standing with her helmet by her feet, mouth agape in awe. Once they got closer the rangers could her start squealing. Quinn ran forward a few steps then threw herself on the ground. She giggled.

_So this is what grass feels like! _She shivered at how the little green blades poked her neck and arms. Whenever she moved it shifted underneath her. She rolled over onto her stomach and put her face in the grass. _It smells so fresh! _She lifted her head and her eyes went wide. "Ohmygoshaplaygrond!" She was on her feet again in an instant and bolting towards the jungle gym. The others ran after her, Leo grabbing her helmet as they passed. Jasper and Andy sat on a bench with Chris while Austin joined Quinn on the jungle gym. She ran up the steps and looked down at the rangers from the landing. "Hi guys!" She ran across the bridge that connected the two halves, smiling at how the pieces shifted under her feet. She reached the next landing and climbed up a couple more large steps. She stood in front a slide that was 15 feet off the ground where she stood. "Leo! Leo are you watching?!"

"I'm watching Quinn!" Leo called back. Quinn grinned and grabbed the top of the slide. She swung herself on it and pushed off.

"Whooo!" she shouted as she slid down the twisting slide. Once her feet hit the woodchips she ran over to the rangers. "Did you see that?! It was so much fun! I'm going again!" She ran back towards the steps before any of them could reply.

Chris smiled. "She's really having a blast." She looked over at the boys and saw that Jasper was frowning. "What?"

"Anyone else notice the couple staring at the sixteen year old girl acting like she's six?" he asked. Leo and Andy looked to where he was pointing. Sure enough, a couple who appeared to be in their late-thirties were staring at Quinn as she jumped on the bridge a few times, making the pieces move beneath her.

"Eh, let them stare," Andy told him. "Quinn's having fun, this is the first time she's left the house in her life."

"Yeah, it shows."

Quinn went down the slide again, Austin right behind her. "Austin, what's that?!" she asked.

"Its a teeter-totter," Austin replied. "You need two people and-"

"Leo, go on the teeter-totter with me!" Quinn ran over and grabbed Leo's hand. Then, without waiting for a response, dragged the red ranger over.

"I only hope she doesn't accidentally kill Leo," Jasper smiled as the rest of them followed at a slower pace. "I don't know where we'd find another red ranger."

Quinn grabbed one end of the equipment and sat down on the seat. Leo sat on the other and Quinn gave her an expectant look. "Oh, right," Leo said. "Ok, so, all you do is push off with your legs. Then I push off with mine, and you catch yourself with your legs. Got it?"

"Yup!" Quinn crouched down, then pushed away from the ground with her legs. She laughed as she flew into the air. Leo pushed herself off, then Quinn caught herself. "This is awesome!"

"I feel like we took advantage of this as kids," Andy said as they watched.

"Come on Andy," Jasper said as he put his arm around the white ranger. "Let's get in on the action?"

"Won't we look silly?"

"No sillier than Quinn and Leo."

Austin looked at Chris sideways. "Princess?" he asked, gesturing to the only empty see-saw.

Chris sighed. "Fine, but if you cherry bomb me I'll shoot you with my blaster."

Soon all six rangers were happily see-sawing away. Quinn was by far having the most fun, but everyone else was having a good time as well. That is, until the Darklings showed up. The rangers either quickly dismounted, or jumped down from their high sitting positions. The rangers formed a semi-circle around Quinn, separating her from the demons.

"Quinn, go climb one of those trees!" Leo told her. "Now!"

Quinn nodded. She wanted to stay and help, she really wanted to stay and help, but she didn't want to risk breaking one of Z's rules and have to go home early. She took off running for the closest tree while the rangers brought their morphers up.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five rangers yelled. They attacked the Darklings, but some of them managed to sneak past the rangers and go after Quinn. She jumped up and grabbed the lowest hanging branch. She pulled herself up, but a Darkling suddenly grabbed her foot and pulled her down. Quinn reacted almost immediately and kicked down at the demon. She dropped down and punched the demon in the head, following quickly with a kick to the sternum. She saw another out of the corner of her eye and spun around to face it. She kicked it in the head, then drove her elbow into the torso of the demon. As soon as she saw that the Darklings had dissipated. She jumped up and pulled herself up into the tree. She stood carefully on the branch, then pulled herself up onto another one.

Leo was trying not to worry about Quinn. She shot two more Darklings in the head before something hit her. She stumbled back and looked around. She couldn't figure out what had hit her or where it had come from. She was suddenly hit from behind and she almost fell forward. "What's going on?!"

"Something just hit me!" Austin yelled. "Ow! What the fuck just hit me?!"

Jasper looked around, but he couldn't see what was attacking his friends. "What's- ow!" He shot out at the air around him, but it didn't hit anything. The rangers all stood still, listening for someone or something. There was nothing. They all moved around carefully, keeping their blasters ready to fire. After a few minutes they de-morphed.

"That was weird," Andy said, rubbing his shoulder where it had been hit by one of the invisible projectiles.

Quinn hopped out of her tree and ran over to the rangers. "That was a lot more interesting than watching through security cameras."

"Whatever those demons were throwing, it was painful."

"Stormicon just had to be up to something, today of all days," Jasper muttered. Chris nodded.

"Well, let's not let this stop us," Leo announced. She put her arm around Quinn. "Where to now Quinn?"

"Oh the beach! Let's go to the beach!"

Andy and Austin gave each other uneasy looks. "The beach is an hour away," the green ranger told her carefully.

"So we can't go...?"

The rangers all sighed and dropped their heads guiltily. They looked at Leo, laying the burden of potentially crushing Quinn's dreams on her. This was the wrong choice, because the red ranger took one look at her friend's face and said, "Fine, we'll go to the beach."

"Yeah! Let's go!" Quinn started running to the bikes while the others headed to get the helmets.

"What happened to Z's rule about staying in the city?" Chris asked Leo.

"And the...surprise," Jasper hissed.

"It's not like she can go swimming," Leo told them. "We won't be there long, and then we'll be back in plenty of time for the surprise."

"Guys! Let's go!" Quinn yelled to them.

The rangers smiled to each other and headed for the bikes.

-Thunder Strike-

The trip to the beach was pleasantly uneventful. Quinn was laughing and cheering the entire ride there, but Leo didn't mind. Just hearing how happy her friend was, Leo had to smile. It made her feel light-hearted. Once they were at the beach, Quinn took off running for the sand. Once again, the others were a few steps behind her.

Quinn grinned widely as she took a deep breath. The taste of salt filled her nose and mouth. _Oh my god that's amazing! _"Do you think we'll be able to find a starfish?"

"Uh...probably not," Andy replied. "You should take your shoes off though."

"Great idea!" Jasper said. "We can go get our feet wet."

Quinn loved that idea. She ran to a log that was bleached by the sun and sea over the years. She took her shoes and socks off, and immediately enjoyed the feeling of the soft sand under her feet. The others followed suit; taking off their own socks and shoes. Austin stretched in the bright sun. "I have to admit, I'm going to miss going to France this summer."

"You go to France in the summer?" Leo asked him.

"Yup. We have a villa in south of France on the Mediterranean. It's great."

"I'm not even surprise," Jasper said.

"Come on, let's go!" Quinn yelled excitedly. She grabbed Leo's hand and pulled her along to the water. The others followed hot on their heels as the six of them splashed into the shallow waters. Quinn gasped when the small waves crashed over her feet and against her ankles. "It's cold!"

"Just give it a minute," Andy said. "You'll lose feeling in your feet and toes pretty soon." Chris smiled slyly, then crouched down and splashed water at Andy. Andy yelped and jumped a little bit. He turned around and gave the blue ranger a playful smile. "Oh it's on."

"What's on-" Austin stopped short when water hit him in the face. "What the fuck?!"

"Chris moved! It wasn't my-" Andy sputtered when a small wall of water hit him in the face. _I should've seen that coming. _

Within seconds, complete mayhem broke out and the rangers started splashing each other in the water. They screeched and yelled joyfully, which drew the attention of quite a few people at the beach. But the rangers just didn't care. They enjoyed themselves until Austin eventually went to check his phone. He saw the time and waved Leo down. She nodded and grabbed Quinn's arm. "Come on," she said. "We have to go."

"Really?" Quinn asked, clearly disappointed.

"It's time for your surprise," Chris assured her.

"You're going to love it," Jasper added.

"Come on," Leo said. She grabbed Quinn's hand, not really noticing how it made her smile, and led her back up the sand.

"Next time can we play on the rocks?" Quinn asked as she eyed the groups of large rocks nearby.

"Next time we'll spend the whole day here," Austin replied. "I'll teach you to boogie board."

"And we'll have a picnic," Andy said. They all stood up and headed for their bikes.

"I say we grab some lunch when we get back into the city."

"Yes!" everyone agreed.


	52. Episode 17: Sweet Sixteen Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVII: Sweet Sixteen

Chapter Three: An Almost Perfect Day

A/N: Yay, another chapter done! For Guest Reviewer (You know who you are): I'm not against a crossover with another author, I did one in Olympic Force, but it would depend on the author and the team that they have. Read on and enjoy!

"Independence is happiness." -Susan B. Anthony

Lunch for the team turned out to be a café that Andy recommended. They ate outside, enjoying the summer warmth as they dug into their sandwiches. "Mmm," Quinn hummed in a satisfied tone. "This chicken salad is delicious."

"Agreed," Jasper replied.

"Is it as good as Z's cooking?" Andy asked. He found their mentor was a pretty good cook; certainly better than his father, who somehow managed to burn water.

Quinn considered it for a second. "I want to say yes, just because I've been eating only Z's cooking my whole life."

"Does your dad ever cook when he comes to visit?"

"Not really. He's a pretty terrible cook. Definitely not one of his strengths." She ate another French fry

"I'm a great cook," Austin informed them.

Jasper snorted. "Yeah right," he said. "You can cook?"

"Sure."

"Actual food or meth?" Chris asked.

"Hey! I never did meth! That shit fucks you up. And yes, I can cook actual food. I had to be able to, because it's not like anyone in my family cold be bothered to cook for me."

"Better than me. I can cook anything that comes with instructions on the back," Jasper said. He took another bite of his grilled ham and cheese sandwich. "I'm really good at mac and cheese. Very popular with my siblings."

"You ever try putting corn and peas in it? Very good. Canned stuff works great."

"I'll have to remember that. What about you Chris?"

"Well I never burned down the building," the blue ranger replied. "My dad's a chief so there's never a need for someone else to cook."

"I'm a terrible cook," Leo said quietly. "I burn eggs and toast every time."

"Bummer," Austin replied. He gave her a teasing smile. "I can teach you to cook if you want."

"I'd like that."

-Thunder Strike-

Blizzitor smiled. "I found her!"

"The host?" Tornidon asked.

"No, the empress. Yes the host! Numbskull."

"Can't we just go down there?" Hurricous asked. "The rangers are no match for us, we can get to the host easily."

"And give away the fact that the host is Sun Storm? The fact that the rangers don't know who she is, is a great advantage to us. Her identity must remain a secret."

"Then how do we get your new weapon to her?" Tornidon asked.

"Get that demon back down there. And tell him this time, not to mess around and play with them. While he distracts them, I'll deliver the new weapon to Sun Storm."

The other two nodded in agreement. "Lets go then," Hurricous said gruffly. "Before the emperor demotes us to Darklings."

-Thunder Strike-

The teens finished up their food and stood up. "Are we going to the surprise now?!" Quinn asked excitedly.

"Yes, we are," Leo replied. Immediately after she said that their morphers started beeping.

"I'm convinced they plan this shit out," Austin muttered. Darklings descended around them and the civilians immediately started screaming and running.

Jasper rolled his eyes. _And somehow, no one still notices the crazy teens not running away from danger. And our identities are still a secret how? _

"Quinn, get somewhere safe," Leo said.

"Mhm," Quinn agreed. She ran off and hid with begrudging obedience.

"We're good!" Chris announced to the team. All the civilians had gotten out of there very quickly. Something suddenly hit all the rangers, drawing their attention to a demon that appeared to be made out of bones. He was a skeleton that appeared to be human, but they weren't familiar with demon anatomy so they weren't certain.

Leo nodded. "Let's morph!"

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five Rangers yelled, morphing.

"Red rain ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"Green lightning ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!"

The rangers pulled out heir blasters and started firing at the Darklings. Leo saw the skeleton pull a rib from his body and throw it at Andy. It hit the white ranger in his own ribs; making him stumble back in pain. "What was that?!" he demanded.

Leo saw a bone heading for her and she shot it out of the air with his blaster. "Watch out for the skeleton!" she shouted. She kept firing at the Darklings, trying to keep them from getting too close. She did manage to clear through the pack, but that just left her with the skeleton that was hurling parts of it's body at her teammates. The bones always boomeranged back to him after a hit, meaning he didn't run out of ammo.

Meanwhile, Blizzitor appeared out of a funnel cloud. He looked around and went straight for the host. As soon as she saw him she stumbled back in shock more than fear. "You- you-" she stuttered. Her eyes suddenly glowed gold and she morphed into Sun Storm.

"A gift from the Emperor," he explained, handing the newest weapon to her. "You'll know when to use it against them. Destroy the power rangers."

"Destroy the power rangers."

He nodded and disappeared in a funnel cloud.

Back at the battle, Jasper and Chris were trying to tag team the skeleton demon. Jasper ducked as a femur sailed towards his neck, and a clavicle hit him in the head. He swung his cloud maces at the demon, landing a hit on his sternum. The demon took a step back and when the black ranger swung another mace at him, he suddenly collapsed into a pile of bones. "Huh?"

"Did you get him?" Chris asked.

"I-" The Skeleton suddenly reassembled and a hand suddenly grabbed Jasper by the neck. He suddenly found his airway caught off. He started struggling to free himself from the grip.

"Let him go!" Chris shouted, throwing her wind fans at the demon. One hit the wrist of the hand holding Jasper. It was detached, but the hand continued to squeeze Jasper's throat. The other hit him in the neck, detaching his head. The hand finally let go of Jasper, who sighed with relief and took deep breaths. THe hand reattached to the arm, and the body picked up the head and put it back on the neck.

"This is like the Nightmare Before fucking Christmas," Austin muttered. He knocked away two more bones that almost impaled him in the chest.

"Ahahaha!" the skeleton laughed. "There's no way you can beat-" He didn't even finish his bragging before Leo hit him in the face with her rain stick.

_I'm not in the mood to listen to a demon who's ruining Quinn's birthday. _She spun around and whacked the demon in the chest. He attacked her with an ulna, but she blocked him with her own weapon. "You demons needs need to learn to stay out of our business!" she snapped. She was about to hit him again when pain suddenly erupted in her lower back. She stumbled to the ground and looked around. _Good grief. _She stood up and faced off against the gold ranger. "What're you doing here?"

"Destroying the power rangers," Sun Storm answered. She fired at Leo again, but the red ranger ran to the side. She jumped up onto a nearby table and broke her rain stick in half. She threw one of them at the gold ranger. It hit her in the chest, but she brushed it off and returned fire with her blasters. Leo flipped off the table pushed it on its side to use as a shield. She crouched down behind it, trying to think of a plan off attack.

The other rangers meanwhile were trying to get rid of the skeleton demon. He reassembled once again after Andy had landed several hits with his snow scrapers that caused him to disassemble. Chris winced and shouted as she was bombarded by ribs. "Guys, let's power up!" she yelled to her teammates.

"Great idea!" Jasper replied. They all grabbed their super storm tags and inserted them into their morphers.

"Super Storm, Uprade!" they shouted.

"The howling wind, super storm blue!"

"The erratic lightning, super storm green!"

"The freezing ice, super storm white!"

"The rumbling cloud, super storm black!"

Chris summoned her wind storm claw and jumped at the demon, swinging at him. Jasper backed her up by blocking bones with his cloud storm defender. The two of them worked one on side with him blocking the projectiles and her attacking the demon. Andy and Austin joined them with similar teamwork on the other side. Austin hit the demon from the right with his lightning storm axe, while Andy whipped bones out of the air with his ice storm whip. The rangers kept up their attacks, finally starting to make progress in hurting the demon.

Leo saw a hole sudden get blasted in the table and her eyes widened. _Ok, new strategy. She took off her super storm tag form the chain. "Super storm, upgrade! The raging rain, super storm red!" She summoned her rain storm crosser and popped up. The gold ranger stumbled back from the sudden fire power. She ducked and dove to avoid the blasts coming from Leo. She put her two blasters together and kept firing at the red ranger. Leo jumped and flipped over the table, pushing the gold ranger back farther. She quickly rejoined her friends. "Let's _get rid of the skeleton. Then we can take care of the gold ranger."

"Gold ranger?! She's here?!" Andy asked. He looked around, but he didn't see her.

Leo looked too, but the gold ranger had disappeared. _Where'd she go? _

Sun Strom hadn't gone far. She was crouched behind the table Leo had been using as a shield earlier. She watched the rangers through the hole she herself had made. _These Rangers will be history soon. _

"Let's combine our power!"

"Right!" the others agreed.

"Thunder Striker! Ready!" the five of the yelled as Leo leveled the weapon at the demon. They channeled their energy into the red ranger. "Fire!" Leo pulled the trigger and fired the multicolored blast at the demon.

"Aww!" he yelled. "You rangers are no fun!" He exploded and Leo lowered the weapon.

"Wait for it," Austin muttered.

A second later a giant funnel cloud touched down and brought the demon back. "Now you rangers will really be sorry!"

"Thunder zord, activate!" the five of them yelled.

"Thunder hawk zord, online!"

"Thunder tiger zord, online!"

"Thunder bobcat zord, online!"

"Thunder fox zord, online!"

"Thunder falcon zord, online!"

Thunder Strike Megazord!" the five of them yelled together.

The demon laughed and threw different bones at the megazord. The Megazord blasted some of them back, but most of them managed to hut their mark. The Megazord raised it's right arm and started firing at the demon.

Meanwhile Sun Storm up smiling. "Time to use my new toy." She looked down at her new weapon in her hands. It was a shaped as bird. A gold bird with red feathers and red accents on its chest. She held it up. "Phoenix, power up!" She threw the bird in the sky and raised her hand towards it. The bird glowed with a golden light and in suddenly grew a lot bigger. Sun Storm glowed and teleported into the zord. She sat down at the controls, which was a panel that surrounded her on three sides. She placed her hands on the side panels and the interior lit up with a dark gold light. "Phoenix zord, powered up!" She flew the zord through the air and tapped her pointed fingers. Two blasts fired from the eyes and hit the megazord.

Inside, the Rangers all cried out in shock. "What the fuck was that?!" Austin demanded.

"That wasn't the skeleton," Jasper said. They'd been watching the demon the whole time, so they knew it hadn't been him. Something hit them again and the megazord looked around.

"There!" Chris shouted, pointing. Leo's mouthed opened in shock, so did the others'.

"Is...is that...?" Andy asked in shock, unable to believe it.

"Where the fuck did she get a zord?!" Austin asked in disbelief.

The phoenix hit the Megazord with another couple of powerful blasts. The skeleton demon joined in, throwing bones at the rangers. "You guys take care of the demon," Leo said. "I'll take care of the gold ranger."

"You got it!" they replied.

Leo held out her hand. "Cougar!" She teleported out of the megazord and into her cougar zord. She faced off once again against the gold ranger. She attacked the phoenix zord, clawing at the bird. The phoenix brought it wings down and forced the cougar off.

Sun Storm smirked. "Let's see how you handle this, Red Ranger." She put her hand on the panel in front of her and swiped her hand across it. "Phoenix zord transformation!" The wings of the phoenix spread out like arms, while the legs unhooked to reveal longer legs that expanded from the torso. Wing tips folded in, then expanded into hands. "Solar Phoenix Megazord!"

Leo blinked. _That I wasn't expecting. _She attacked again, but the Solar Phoenix Megazord knocked her zord aside with a wave of its arm. It fired blasts from its eyes again. "Ah!" Leo yelled in pain. She fired blasts of her own, but they were ineffective against the new megazord. _I think we need to regroup. _She teleported back to the megazord. "How's it going?"

"I think we're doing a pretty good job," Chris replied.

"The gold ranger's megazord was too strong for me. Let's get rid of bones over there so we can take it on together."

"The gold ranger's what?!" Jasper demanded.

"Let's just take him down."

"Right!" the others chorused. They all flipped the first switch and the Megazod flew into the sky. It did a flip in the air fired at the skeleton demon as it came down. It spun and hit the the demon with its wings as it flew past.

No! Not again!" the demon shouted as the megazord landed and he exploded.

"Now for the gold-" Leo stopped. the Sun Storm ranger and her megazord were both gone. The gold ranger watched the megazord look back and forth, gritting her teeth against her headache.

"Next time rangers," she muttered as she de-morphed. "Next time." She looked around then ran off before the rangers could spot her.

"I swear, she's just playing mind games with us," Jasper said, feeling frustrated.

Leo sighed. "The storm has passed."

-Thunder Strike-

Once they were on the ground and de-morphed the rangers went looking for Quinn. They walked around in the direction they'd seen her running. "Quinn? Quinn?" Leo yelled. Quinn suddenly popped up from behind a pile of boxes.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"It was fine beside the gold ranger," Jasper said.

"The gold ranger?! She was there?"

"Yeah, and get this, she has a zord now!" Austin exclaimed.

"A zord?! But...how?!"

"Who knows," Chris replied with a sigh.

"She's certainly a mystery," Andy added.

Leo put her arm around Quinn, trying not to wince as she did. "Well, it's over now. I think it's time for Quinn's birthday surprise."

Quinn brightened up considerably. "What is it?!"

"Let's get back to the bikes and we'll show you," Jasper said. She squealed and took off running, the rangers followed quickly.

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn gasped and her mouth opened in shock when she saw her surprise. "No way!"

Austin grinned. "Welcome to the Solstice Day Festival."

"The one day fair that happens every year here in Cliffton, and just happens to be on your birthday," Andy said. "There's animals, food, rides, games! Everything we need for a good time!"

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Quinn shouted. "What're we going to do first?"

"Whatever you want to do," Chris replied. "Just...no house of mirrors."

"Agreed," the other rangers said quickly.

"I want to go pet some animals!" Quinn said excitedly.

"Animals it is then," Leo said. She grabbed Quinn's hand and they headed for the petting animals. Once they were there, they discovered all animals hated Austin. He tried to pet a sheep, only to have it snap at his hand.

"Asshole," he muttered. He looked over at Leo and Quinn, who were petting a sheep that seemed to be enjoying it. In the bunny pen, Quinn chased rabbits around for twenty minutes, laughing the whole time. She did manage to catch one and brought it over for her friends to see. They all took turn petting it. Even Austin dared touch it, earning him a nip. He glared at the fluffy bunny as Quinn put it down. With the pigs Quinn and Leo bonded particularly well to the baby piglets, while Jasper and Andy pet the adult pigs.

"You're not getting in there?" Chris asked.

"I'm not letting a fricken pig bite me," Austin said. He didn't see the pig that snuck up on him and grabbed his jeans. "Hey!"

After the animals, the rangers walked around looking at the various tents selling stuff. Austin bought a plastic crown and placed it on Quinn's head. He also bought a giant inflatable hammer for himself and a caveman stick for Andy. The tow of the proceeded to bash each other and chase each other around as they walked through grounds.

"Let's play some games," Chris suggested.

"Nah man, those things are rigged," Jasper said.

"You never know until you try," Austin replied. They found a simple enough game that consisted of throwing darts at balloons. Leo was up first, and managed to hit all three of her targets. She won a small stuffed bear, which she gave to Quinn. Quinn set it down as she stepped up and tried it for herself. She also hit all three balloons, and won a giraffe. Chris tried next, but she didn't win anything. Jasper tried next and won a stuffed bear like Leo. Andy also won a giraffe and Austin won a tiger. He handed it to Chris wordlessly. The blue ranger raised her eyebrows at the gesture, but accepted it none the less. They moved on to another game, where they had to shoot baskets. Leo and Quinn were terrible at it, having never shot a basketball ever. Andy was pretty good, winning himself a basketball with the logo for a professional team on it. Chris did pretty good, but didn't get enough points for a prize. Jasper also won a basketball, and chose the only black one there as his prize. Austin chose not to play, insisting that basketball was stupid.

The next game they chose required them to climb a ladder that flipped if you didn't climbed it the right way. Leo opted out since she was wearing a skirt. Jasper went first and made it three quarters of the way up before he was tipped off. Austin went next and made it only half way. Andy followed suit, making it as far as Jasper. Chris almost made it to the end, but flipped before she could make it all the way. When Quinn went, she surprised no one by making it all the way to the end. She won a t-shirt which displayed a large cartoon sun and the words 'Solstice Day Festival' on the front in bold letters. She quickly slipped it on over her own.

"Hey look," Jasper said, pointing. "One of those strength things."

Austin put his arms around the black and white rangers. "Come on boys, let's show off for these lovely ladies."

Chris snorted. "Oh this should be good." The three girls watched as each of the boys swung the oversized mallet. Jasper did remarkably well, making the bell ring. Austin did ok, but he didn't quite make it to the bell. Andy did the worst, only moving the block half way up.

"That was great!" Quinn cheered. "You guys did so good!"

"Actually that was humiliating and after today I will never show my face in public again," Andy said sadly.

"You mean this face?" Austin asked as he hit the white ranger in the face with his hammer. Andy reciprocated and soon the two of them were going at it again. The rangers watched a magic show, which Quinn found amazing. After that it was time to eat, then more games.

"what now?!" Quinn asked after they'd been there for several hours.

"Rides?" Chris asked.

"Rides!"

The rides turned out to be Quinn's favorite part. She loved the flying swings, but Leo had to keep reminding her not to actually swing back and forth. The hang gliders were great. Next they tried a ride cslled the zipped and Quinn had to hold her glasses due to the constant flipping upside down. She was giddy when they got off that one. The next one they rode was the tilt-a-whirl, and then one that spun them around so fast they were defying gravity. All to soon the sun went down and there was only time for one more ride.

"What'll it be for the last one of the night?" Andy asked Quinn.

"Um...That one!" she said pointing.

"The ferris wheel?"

"Sounds god to me," Jasper said. "Let's go."

They headed over to the ferris wheel and split up into groups of two. Quinn paired with Leo immediately, but the red ranger didn't mind. She squeezed Quinn's hand and grinned. Andy and Jasper picked each other next, which inevitably left Chris and Austin together. The white and black rangers gave each other looks of worry.

"If they don't kill each other it'll be a miracle," Jasper whispered.

"Maybe one of us should switch with them."

"Do you want to sit in a small seat with Austin dozens of feet in the air?"

"I just hope they don't kill each other."

Quinn and Leo were the first of the six in line, so they got on first. They sat down and the man pulled the bar down over their laps. Quinn smiled as they moved backwards and upwards. Once they were in the air she started rocking back and forth. "Whoa!" Leo gasped. She put her hand on Quinn's to get her attention. "HOW about we don't?"

Quinn simply grinned and the wheel started moving again. She put her arms up every time they were at the top. Leo found it amusing and didn't try to stop her. The next time they stopped they were at the very top of the circle. "Wow," Quinn whispered in awe. "I can see the whole festival from up here! And the city! But I mean...I'm used to seeing the city from above. Still beautiful though."

Leo nodded in agreement. In the setting sun the city was gorgeous. "Did you have a good birthday?"

"Yes! The absolute best! Thank you so much! Nearly perfect!"

"Nearly? Did the demons bring it down a little?"

"Well...not really. I wouldn't be a very good member of the team if I let a few demons ruin my day."

"Then what made it not perfect? Didn't we do everything you wanted?"

"Well yeah. It's not really something that didn't happen it's something that...hasn't happened yet. Something that could happen."

"What?"

Quinn seemed to hesitate for a second before she quietly said, "This."

Before Leo could react or even speak, Quinn leaned forward, slipped her hand over the red ranger's, and kissed her. Leo didn't move the whole time. Her mind though, started racing a mile a minute. For a brief second she closed her eyes and felt a microsecond of bliss. Then Quinn pulled away and the moment was over. Quinn looked at her uncertainly. "Leo?" Leo blinked, but didn't say anything. "Leo? Say something." Leo still didn't say anything. She didn't even move. "Leo? Leo!"

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: Leo tries to deal with her conflicted thoughts about Quinn, while Quinn tries to balance learning about the gold ranger and learning an uncomfortable truth.


	53. Episode 18: Right As Rain Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVIII: Right As Rain

Chapter One: A Tough Situation 

A/N: I know you're dying to find out what happens next. To Guest: the fact that bats have excellent hearing is the point. It's cruel irony. Also, feel free to posy you reviews on Olympic Force, I'll still read them. Read on and enjoy!

"The thing is, if you're taught to hide what makes you different, you end up feeling a lot of shame about who you are. And that's not ok." -Lena Adams-Foster; The Fosters

Z was mildly concerned with the fact that he hadn't seen Quinn all morning. Or Leo for that matter. He walked over to the table in the dining room where four of the rangers were eating breakfast. He leaned against the back of a chair and they all looked at him. "So is someone going to explain why I haven't seen Leo or Quinn all morning?" None of them answered right away. "How about why Quinn rode back with Chris last night?" Still no answer. "Or why Leo wouldn't look at any of you when you guys got home?" Still more silence. "Give me something!"

Chris sighed. "I honestly have no idea. When we got off the ferris wheel Leo looked kind of...shell shocked. She said it was time to go home, then didn't say anything else the rest of the night."

Z noticed that the three boys were oddly quiet, which was especially suspicious for Austin, and looked at them expectantly. "Do you three know anything about what happened?"

Austin played with his eggs and glanced at Jasper and Andy. Jasper stared at his plate while Andy fidgeted with his glasses. Chris rolled her eyes. "If you guys know something, I would start talking now."

"If you don't start talking," Z wandered over behind their chairs. "Then we should get started with our day. There are more than enough chores to keep you guys busy today. Scrubbing floors, organizing bedrooms, cleaning bathrooms..." He strolled to Chris' side of the table and gave them an expectant look. "Well?"

The boys looked at each other again, then Andy looked at Z. "Ok...so first there's something you need to know. Quinn is gay."

Z nodded. "That I already knew. Continue."

"I didn't know," Chris said. She eyed the boys. "Did all three of you know?"

"Yeah," Jasper replied with a nod. "We did."

"And you decided not to share with the class why?!"

"We can discuss this later," Z told her. "Andy, continue."

"Right, so what you may not know is that Quinn has a crush on Leo."

"That I didn't know."

"Ok, well, last night, I asked Quinn about what happened on the ferris wheel. And apparently she...kissed Leo."

"They kissed?"

"Is that why Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum are being so evasive?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," Jasper said. "He told us before we went to bed last night."

"Why would you guys keep this kind of info from me?! How am I the only one who doesn't know what's been going on?"

"Blame Andy. He's the one who said we shouldn't tell anyone."

"Hey!"

"Alright, that's enough," Z interrupted.

"That explains why Leo is hiding in her bedroom," Chris said. "I can't imagine that she took this well."

Z sighed. "I'm going to leave the four of you to deal with this. I have things to take care of and Quinn and Leo will most likely listen best to you guys than me anyways. Fix this. I mean it."

"Yes Z," the four rangers chorused. He nodded and left them. As soon as he was gone Chris leveled the boys with a glare.

"Is there any other information you've been keeping from me?" she asked.

"Um..." Austin looked at Jasper and Andy. "One of you can tell her."

"Tell me what?"

"Go ahead Andy!" Jasper encouraged, giving his friend an encouraging pat on the back.

The white ranger gave him an irritated look. "You know one of these days I'm going to make one of you deliver the bad news." He turned to Chris. "So, you know how Quinn was raised in the middle of no where with very little human interaction and little to no outside world interaction?"

"Yeah."

"Well apparently one of the effects of that is that she has no idea what homophobia is."

Chris blinked. "You're kidding how can she not- That's not good."

"You think?"

"Ok, so that means you three can go talk to Quinn, and I'll talk to Leo."

"Why do you get to talk to Leo?" Austin demanded.

"Hey if you three want to keep secrets then you can be the ones to deal with them." She got up and left to put her dishes in the kitchen.

Andy sighed and grabbed at his hair with hands, closing his eyes. "What're we going to do?"

"Well it seems kid of obvious," Jasper replied, "we go tell Quinn what we should've told her weeks ago."

"Then have you figured out how exactly we're going to tell her that there are people in the world who hate her for being herself?" Neither of his friend's answered. "I didn't think so."

"No matter how this conversation goes, I still think we got the easier of the two," Austin told them as the three boys stood up. "I mean, Computer Q might be oblivious, but Holy Smack Down is probably having some kind of an existential crisis."

"True," Jasper admitted. "But how do we explain this? I mean...she'll be crushed."

"Take it from someone who's been there," Andy said as he cleaned his dishes, "this is never an easy thing to realize. The important thing is that she understands that what those people think of her doesn't define who she is. And that we love her for who she is and nothing will change that."

Austin nodded. "Got it."

Jasper frowned. "When exactly did this happen to you?" Andy wasn't exactly as sheltered as Quinn was when it came to upbringing.

Andy sighed and leaned back against the counter. "Because when I came out as asexual I had no idea so many people either a) didn't think it was a real thing, or b) refused to respect it."

"Refuse to respect it?"

"I've had to fight off unwanted advances because people thought that I could be 'fixed'. I know Quinn won't take this well. It's a shock to learn people can be so against you."

None of them spoke for a minute. Finally Austin said, "I guess delaying the inevitable won't do us any good, right?"

"Unfortunately," Jasper replied. "Come on men, let's go rip the Band-Aid off." Austin and Andy nodded, following the black ranger out of the room.

-Thunder Strike-

"The Rangers can't beat Sun Storm," Hurricous said smugly as he and the other greater demons watched the last battle with Emperor Stormicon. "She's much too strong."

"They hold back," Blizzitor noted, eyeing the Red Ranger. "They're not putting all of their power into their attacks."

"It's their humanity," Tornidon sneered, like the last word was joke of some kind. "They can't bring themselves to hurt another human."

"Sun Storm doesn't have that problem."

"No, she doesn't."

Stormicon let out a deep breath. "Sun Storm will defeat the Rangers. I want no excuses. She must leave them no doubts about any humanity inside of her."

"Yes Sire," the three demons said bowing.

"Come," Blizzitor said to his comrades. "We'll go send down a demon. Some chaotic energy down in the city should empower Sun Storm to attack the Rangers and at least leave them with a bad taste in their mouths."

"What is with these humans?" Hurricous moaned. "Inhabitants usually don't put up this much of a fight."

"It's those Rangers. The people seem to think those five will save them from us."

"Well so far they aren't wrong," Tornidon muttered under his breath. Hurricous hit the tornado demon with his spear.

"Don't let the Emperor hear you say that."

"The Rangers won't win," Blizzitor assured them as the three of them entered the demon room. "Order always gives into chaos eventually." They took some time to look over the demons that were pictured on the walls. "Hm...which of these will give the rangers the worst day?"

"I like this one," Hurricous said, indicating a picture of a demon that had gnarled roots for legs that ascended into a torso that resembled a withered tree trunk. The arms were smaller branches twisted around each other. It's hands were thin branches that should have had leaves of some kind, but instead they were bare; like dead trees in a winter forest. The neck and head were made of the same old, gnarly bark that resembled a dead tree. The head itself was topped with twisted and horrible twigs, instead of actually having eyes the demon had two black holes in his face. "He looks like a nightmare."

"Very well."

The three of them pointed their spears at the picture. "Chaotic energy, give this demon life!" They watched as the funnel cloud spiraled off the wall and deposited the ferocious demon.

"Very good," Hurricous nodded. "Get to work! Create chaotic energy and give those rangers a had time!"

The demon nodded. "Of course, Sir."

-Thunder Strike-

Jasper, Andy, and Austin entered the basement and fond Quinn spinning around in her chair. "Dizzy yet?" Jasper asked with an amused smile.

"No," Quinn replied with a frustrated sighed. She stopped and fixed them with a pointed stare. "I'm trying to figure out a way to stop the Gold Ranger."

"Any ideas?" Andy asked hopefully. If anyone could solve their problem with the rogue ranger it was Quinn. But she merely shook her head.

"She's...an enigma. There's no pattern to when she attacks you, no obvious triggers. I just..." Quinn trailed off and an odd look crossed her face.

"Everything ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Fine! Did you guys need something?"

The three boys froze. "Uh...kind of," Austin began. He elbowed Andy.

"Um..." the white ranger stammered. "We-we wanted to talk to you about something Quinn."

"Oh?"

"Well-" He stopped when the alarms started going off. _For once their timing is perfect. _A second later Leo and Chris teleported into the basement. The red ranger didn't say anything, she simply headed straight for her storm chaser. The others hesitated for a moment before following her.

"Quinn-" Chris began but Quinn interrupted.

"Coordinates are already sent to your morphers," she said, focusing completely on her monitors. She grimaced and rested a hand against her head. She heard the Rangers start their bikes and teleport out. she closed her eyes, sitting back in her chair a minute. _Damn headaches. _

-Thunder Strike-

As soon as the rangers were in the city they ran into problems. All five of them were suddenly thrown into their handlebars. Leo groaned as pain erupted in her chest. Chris winced ash she rolled her wrists carefully, testing them out. Austin was thrown off his bike, skimming his hands on the ground.

"Fuck," he swore quietly, wincing at the stinging in his palms.

Jasper had the breath knocked out of him as he slammed his chest into his handlebars. Andy flipped over his, managing to turn his fall into a roll, but this also meant he hurt his arm from where he fell. He found himself staring at what had caused the sudden stop. He frowned. "Are...are those roots?"

Leo looked down and saw that yes, they were roots. Roots had sprung suddenly out of the ground and wrapped both around, and through their tires. "Come on," she said. "we'll go on foot." Everyone either got off their bikes or stood up and they went look for the demon. This part of the city was surprisingly deserted. Then they saw the roots that were wrapped in and around cars, buildings, and anything else that was around.

"Creepy," Jasper commented.

"Let's morph." The rangers raised their arms, but before they could morph, roots sot out of nowhere and grabbed their wrists. The rangers were pulled in several different directions. "Ah!" Leo looked at her wrist and saw the root wrapped around her morpher, keeping her from accessing it. It kept her pined down by that arm. She looked to her left and saw Chris was in the same position as herself. Directly in front of Leo, Austin was cursing and pulling; attempting to get himself free. A little farther to his right Andy was clawing at the root, trying to get it off his morpher. Jasper was on Leo's right, several yards away, also struggling. Leo pulled at her arm, but it stayed stuck firmly.

"That'll do you no good Rangers!" a voice yelled. The five of them looked around in confusion. More roots emerged from the middle of the road, twisting and weaving around each other to form a body. The demon rubbed his twig hands together, then spread them out and raised them a few inches. More roots shot out of the ground and snatched the rangers' free wrists. They were now pinned to the ground by both wrists, unable to get free. "My roots are strong. You'll never get free."

"Fucking watch me!" Austin snapped.

Andy looked at both his trapped hands and the demon. "Ugh! Could this get any worse?!"

As if in response, Darklings descended along with a column of light. The light disappeared and the Gold Ranger took out her twin blasters.

Austin looked at Andy in a deadpan. "You had to fucking ask!"

Leo sighed inwardly, never taking her eyes off the evil ranger. _Just when you thought the day couldn't get any worse._


	54. Episode 18: Right As Rain Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVIII: Right As Rain

Chapter Two: Quinn and Leo's Problems

A/N: Sorry this is so late. I had college orientation and the keyboard on my laptop is being difficult. WARNINGS: internalized homophobia. Read on!

"The thing is, if you're taught to hide what makes you different, you end up feeling a lot of shame about who you are. And that's not ok." -Lena Adams-Foster; The Fosters

Naturon laughed darkly. "Get the Rangers!" The Darklings attacked the trapped rangers with a zeal they wouldn't have if the Rangers had been able to defend themselves properly.

Jasper kicked at the Darklings to keep them away. Unfortunately this was not effective and the demons quickly surrounded him. They started kicking him and the black ranger pulled his legs close to is body to try and protect himself. He winced and cried out in pain from the blows. Andy wasn't fairing much better, with the Darklings kicking him in every open space available, including his head. He pulled viciously at the restraints holding his wrists down. He put his head down against his chest and tried to curl up to protect himself. He grit his teeth but that didn't stop him from shouting in pain when something suddenly hit him in the back. He writhed on the ground as the pain spread from his spine to his lower back.

_Andy! _Leo thought silently. She watched in horror as the Gold Ranger pointed a blaster at Austin and Jasper each. She fired and Leo could only watch as the blasts shot through the Darklings, destroying them; only to then hit the green and black rangers. Austin screamed in pain from where it hit him in the ribs, while Jasper shrieked in agony. The Gold Ranger pointed one of her blasters at Chris. "Hey Goldy!" Leo shouted.

Sun Storm looked at Leo. "Red Ranger," she hissed. She aimed both blasters at Leo. "I'm going to destroy you for the Emperor."

"Please," Leo said evenly as the Gold Ranger walked closer. She kept her head up and stared at the helmet of her adversary. "let us help you. Whatever the demons are doing, we can help."

"I don't need your help! I serve Emperor Stormicon willingly!" She shot at the trapped Ranger and Leo winced as one of them grazed her hand. She looked at her wrist and saw part of the root was gone. She suddenly had a very crazy idea.

"Why would you serve him?! He's a demon! He'll destroy or world!"

"I'm not of your world! I'm a creation of chaotic energy and the Power that you five covet so dearly."

Leo's heart skipped a beat at the word 'covet', but she pressed on. The Gold Ranger fired again, this time it bounced off the ground and hit one of her root cuffs. "The Power would never be used for evil!"

"Is there a point to this conversation?" Austin muttered as he dodged the kicks the Darklings were sending at him as best as he could.

The Gold Ranger chuckled evilly. "You Rangers don't understand the true depth of the Power. What it can do."

Leo winced again as a blast hit near her wrists. "The Power is a force of good!"

"As if it's any help to you now."

Leo then did something that floored the other Rangers. She smirked. "Oh is it?" She suddenly wrenched her hand free brought her morpher quickly to her other trapped wrist. "THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" She pulled out her blaster and shot at her other wrist. She got it free and jumped to her feet. The Gold Ranger fired at her, but she dodged them. She grabbed her weapons tag. "Rain stick!" She twirled the weapon then swung it at the Gold Ranger. Se hit the evil ranger in the chest, but Sun Storm fired at her again. Leo it the blasts away with her rain stick, but the Gold Ranger easily dodged them. Leo attacked again, she and Sun Storm dancing around each other as they tried to land a hit.

Chris saw the creepy tree demon raising one of his hands. "Not gonna happen buddy," she growled. She wrapped her feet around the ankle of one of the Darklings. She tripped it and gave it a hard kick. The blast of air it had been about to send at her missed and was sent in the tree's direction instead. It knocked him off balance and the root that he'd been controlling missed Leo. It did wrap around Sun Storm though. She growled at her trapped ankles, trying to pull them free. Leo managed to get the gold ranger's blasters away from her, then aimed her own blaster at the trapped ranger.

"Go ahead," Sun Storm said with an invisible, but very audible smirk. "Shoot me."

Leo's hand tightened. Her wrists were on fire and her side was throbbing. She sighed and fired at the roots instead. Sun Storm stumbled to her feet and glared at Leo. "Get out of here," the red ranger said evenly.

"You'll regret that Red Ranger. I won't stop until I've beaten and destroyed all of you rangers. But especially you." She touched the gem on her wrist and disappeared in a column of bright light. Leo looked back and saw the demons were gone too.

The roots disappeared and Andy sat up slowly. "Ow!" he hissed, wincing and cringing as he moved.

"Is everyone ok?" Leo asked as her team slowly got up.

"I think my ribs are broken," Austin said. He stumbled into Andy and the two of them fell on the ground in pain.

"We need to get back."

Chris nodded as she went to help Leo, but the red ranger shook her head. "Come on Leo," Chris said as the red ranger de-morphed. "You need help."

"I'm fine. Go help Jasper." The blue ranger sighed, but figured it wouldn't do much good to argue. "Andy, use Austin to help you stand. Only on his left side though." Andy nodded and gently wrapped his arm around the left side of Austin's neck. Leo held out her hand. "Storm chasers, online!" The storm chasers raced to each of the rangers and they got on slowly. "Let's get back, we need medical attention."

"Aye aye," Jasper gasped as they started their bikes and drove off, teleporting back to the manor.

-Thunder Strike-

As soon as the were back, Andy almost threw himself off his bike. Z caught him and wrapped his hands under his arms. "You guys look awful," he said as he gently helped the white ranger.

"Well the Gold Ranger did try to fry us," Austin muttered wrapping his left arm around his ribs. He stumbled and reached out with his right hand to catch himself. "Fucking hell!" he gasped as pain shot through his chest and torso. "Those blasters fucking hurt."

Jasper stumbled forward, trying to get to a seat. "She definitely wasn't going easy on us," he said with a grimace.

"Who's dying the most?" Z asked them.

"Um...Andy," Leo informed him. No one commented on how Quinn didn't move to help her. She didn't even look at the Rangers; just stared at her computers, typing away furiously.

"Let's get upstairs so I can patch you guys up." He steered Andy towards the stairs and the others followed at a slow and staggering pace. Chris, being the least injured, gently put her hands on Leo's shoulders and supported the red Rangers upstairs. Austin and Jasper pulled themselves upstairs with a lot of help from the hand rail.

Once they were upstairs, Z gently coaxed Andy to lay on his stomach on his stomach. "Shirt off," he said, pulling out a first aid kit from under a the couch.

"Do I want to know why there's a first aid kit under the couch?" Chris asked as she made Leo sit down.

"Quinn was constantly managing to hurt herself growing up, so I started keeping them all over the house."

"Ah!" Andy yelled in pain as he finally got his shirt off. He stared at the hole in his shirt where the blast had hit him. _Well there goes that shirt. _He winced and clenched his teeth as Z started gently started putting some cool gel on the burns on his back.

"She got quite a few good shots in," Z noted as he taped gauze over the burns. "Sit up." Andy sat up and Z wrapped bandages around his torso. "Next?"

Jasper and Andy switched places, but Andy just ended up on the floor; leaning against the couch since he had no energy left. "Ah!" Jasper gasped as Z gently probed his stomach. "Do you have to do that?!"

"Of course I do." Z started to smear gel on the burns on Jasper's stomach. "How else am I supposed to check for serious internal injuries?"

"Just don't poke me too hard." He raised his arms so that Z could wrap bandages on his injuries.

"Austin, you're up." Austin pulled himself up onto the couch.

"I think Leo is the only other person with serious injuries," Chris said.

"I'm fine," Leo replied, pulling her hands in closer to her body.

"You are not, and you can't hide it."

"Come on Leo," Z told her as Austin moved away and sat down on a love seat. "The sooner you get over here, the sooner that you can go upstairs to your room."

Leo nodded and sat down on the couch. She held out her hands and Z carefully examined the burns on her hands and wrists. He carefully spread the gel around on the burns. He started wrapping bandages to keep her injuries from getting infected. As soon as she was done she got up and left the room.

"That happened," Austin said.

"I'll go talk to her," Chris said, leaving without giving Z a chance to look at her injuries, even as minor as they were.

"I take it that you three haven't talked to Quinn yet," Z guessed.

"In our defense, we were going to but then the demons and the fucking psycho ranger decided to grace the surface of our world with their presence," Austin told him defensively.

"You'd better get to it then."

"Do we really have to do this?" Jasper asked him. "I mean...can't you just take care of it?"

"This might come as a surprise to you, but I do believe you're capable of handling things that don't involve fighting. Besides, Quinn has always had to listen to me. She would benefit from some advice and help from her friends, and more importantly, people her own age."

"We'll get right on it," Andy assured him. _If I can find the strength to move._

-Thunder Strike-

Once the three boys finally made it downstairs, with much groaning and pain, they found Quinn still typing away madly at her keyboard. They all looked at each other, then Jasper and Austin shoved Andy forward. "Um...Quinn? You ok?" he asked cautiously.

She sighed. "I'm trying to break down the footage I hacked of the gold ranger. There has to be a way to figure out who she is, there just has to be."

"Alright." The three of them sat down and Quinn turned around to face them.

"Shouldn't you guys be resting?"

"Technically we are," Austin pointed out.

"Why aren't you resting upstairs?"

"We...uh...we wanted to talk to you about what happened last night with Leo."

Quinn frowned. "What is there to talk about? I kissed her and now she hates me."

"I wouldn't say she hates you, I'd say that you just make her incredibly uncomfortable," Austin assured her. Jasper smacked him in the head.

"I don't understand why there's a problem. In books and movies whenever one character kisses another, everyone is usually ok with it. Why is it so bad now?"

Jasper, Andy, and Austin gave each other uncomfortable looks again. All of them wished that there were some demons for the to take down. The green and black rangers each gave the white a pat on the shoulder. "Well, there is a reason for it Quinn, but it's not...not good."

"What is it?"

"Well...it's just- You see- Quinn- Here's the thing- The thing is-"

"What's the thing?"

"Some people don't think that what you feel for Leo, and what you did last night is necessarily...right."

"Right?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"There's lots of reasons, and some of them are in the name of religion."

"Religion? Like...as in Leo's religion?"

"Yes and no. Yes, because there are definitely people of her religion who feel this way, but not all of them do."

"But...does Leo?"

"I think so. Not intentionally though. I know that her church is very anti-gay, mostly because I've had bad contact with them, and Leo was raised in that kind of environment. I don't think she actively tries to think this, but it's...hard to unlearn this kind of thinking. And it's not something she'll be able to easily think about."

Quinn scooted down in her chair a bit. She had a very confused look on her face. "So...there are people who don't like the fact that I have feelings for my best friend, even though they don't even know me?"

"They'd also argue that the fact that you have feelings for other girls at all is the real problem," Austin said. Jasper sighed and slapped him again.

"But...why is it any of their business?"

"It really isn't," Jasper supplied, trying to be helpful.

"I just-" Quinn clasped her hands together in front of her. "I don't understand."

"There's really no explanation for it," Andy replied. "Unfortunately, ignorant people will be ignorant. I mean things are getting better...slowly. But surely."

"So...what do I do about Leo?"

"Just give her some time," Austin suggested. "She's the most open minded person I've ever met. She'll come around I'm sure."

"Same," Jasper added.

Quinn nodded. "Can I be alone for a little bit?"

"Yeah, of course!" Andy replied. They all got up and headed for the stairs. Quinn watched them go, then turned around and typed in a command that would lock the basement door and keep the other inhabitants of the house from being able to unlock it. She slid down more in her chair and pulled her knees up to her chest. She put her head down and felt a few tears drip out of her eyes.

-Thunder Strike-

Leo stared in frustration at her keyboard. She desperately wanted to play. It was like an itch in her fingers that she needed to be scratched. Like a muscle twitch she couldn't control. She heard her door open and turned around. "Busy?" Chris asked.

"I wish."

"Good, then we can talk about you and Quinn."

Leo froze. "There- there's nothing to talk about."

"I think there is. You won't even look at her."

"Well...I mean..." Leo threw her hands in the air in frustration. "What am I supposed to say?!"

"What do you want to say?"

"I...I don't know! Have you ever felt so conflicted that it's like being torn apart?! Because that's all I've been feeling since she kissed me!" She suddenly gasped and put her bandaged hands over her mouth.

Chris leaned backwards against the wall. "Just tell me what you feel."

"I don't know what I feel! All I know is that I- I kind of liked it when she kissed me." The last few words came out as a whisper.

"You did?!"

"Yes! But it's wrong! It's evil, it's bad! It's sinful! Homosexuality is a sin!"

"Do you really have think that?"

"I have to. It's-"

"What you've been taught right? Have you ever thought that maybe your parents were wrong?"

"It's not my parents, it's the words of God!"

"Leo." Chris approached her and crouched down I front of her friend. "I know this isn't something easy to talk about. But I need you to really think about this. Do you really believe those things the tell you? Because I know you know there are religious people who don't see things this way."

Leo swallowed. "I don't want to. I always...kind of feel that the words don't mix with God's message of love."

"And that's not bad-"

"But it's the way my world is! I...if I don't believe...then what do I believe?"

"Beliefs can evolve Leo. There's nothing wrong with that-"

"But my parents will think there's something wrong with it! They will never accept this!"

"You don't know that, their ideas can change."

"And if they don't?! Chris, how can I possibly accept any of this when it's separating me from my family!" She put her head down in her hands and started to cry. "How do I even begin to approach this if it goes against everything I was taught to believe."

"Leo." Chris lifted the red ranger's head. "It's ok for your beliefs to change. It's more than ok to form your own views of the world. For now, don't think about the future. Just focus on the present. What do you want right now?"

Leo glanced at her keyboard. _I want Quinn here next to me as I play because it makes me feel at home. I want to teach her to play guitar because watching her play fills me with happiness. I want to be in the library with her as she tutors me because it's amazing how smart she is. I want to watch her work in her lab because her eyes light up with enjoyment when she does. _"I want to be with Quinn."

"Then be with her. Just for now, focus on being happy. And being with her makes you happy."

Leo sighed. "I don't know if I can." _If only this wasn't so hard._


	55. Episode 18: Right As Rain Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XVIII: Right As Rain

Chapter Three: Leo and Quinn

A/N: Sorry this update took so long. Hopefully we'll be back on track for the next episode. Enjoy!

"The thing is, if you're taught to hide what makes you different, you end up feeling a lot of shame about who you are. And that's not ok." -Lena Adams-Foster; The Fosters

Z didn't know whether or not it was a good thing that the house was relatively quiet for the moment. He hadn't heard a peep out of the rangers in a while. He supposed some of that cold be attributed to their injuries. They couldn't exactly cause a lot of trouble if they couldn't move. He rubbed his hair nervously. This was one of the problems he never thought he'd have to deal with. Whenever Quinn would talk endlessly about characters in her books who had her interest, he'd listen, or at least pretend to, and it never occurred to him to talk to Quinn about the...problems she'd face. Even at the age of 13 when she'd told her father she had a crush on...some female character Z couldn't keep them all straight, nether adult had brought up the fact that being gay could be seen as wrong; and could result in her getting hurt.

The alarms started going off all of a sudden and Z ran for the basement. He put in the code, but the door didn't unlock. He groaned._ Oh come on, this again?! _He tried again to no avail. "What's going on?!"

Meanwhile, the Rangers all teleported down to the basement.

"What do we got?" Chris asked. She saw Leo's bandaged hands and wondered if they could convince the red ranger to stay behind.

"That demon is back. And he's been busy," Quinn said as she looked over the map of sensors. "Chaotic energy levels all over the city are going crazy."

"We'd better get down there before someone gets hurt," said Leo, already pulling herself away from the group and towards the bikes. "Let's go!"

The Rangers followed her and they mounted and ignited their storm chasers. They drove off, teleporting down to the city.

-Thunder Strike-

Naturon laughed as he held his arms up. More roots climbed buildings and trapped civilians in their clutches. The civilians kept screaming and trying to free themselves from the prisons of wood. "Those Rangers are too scared to show their faces again!" He pointed his hand at a group of roots that had formed a cage around a group of 7 people. He started closing his hand and the cage started to get smaller. The people inside started screaming louder.

"We're going to die!" a woman shrieked in terror. "We're going to die!"

"We need help!" a man yelled as the group pulled closer together, away from the shrinking bars of the cage.

"Where are the power rangers?!"

Naturon laughed again. He felt himself getting stronger from the chaotic energy that he was creating. "The power rangers can't stop me now!"

"You wanna fucking bet?!" Austin yelled as the Rangers rode into the scene.

"Speed up!" Leo instructed, afraid that all the trapped civilians would see their identities. She and the other Rangers sped up their bikes. Naturon reached his hands out and brought roots up through the ground. They snagged the front tires and whole front of the storm chasers. All five Rangers were thrown forward in the air.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five of them yelled as they flipped forward with their momentum. Their faces were obscured by their bodies, and by the time they landed on the ground they were fully morphed.

"Red rain ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"Green lightning ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!" the five of them chorused.

Naturon chuckled darkly. "You Rangers aren't now to take me on!"

"Actually," Leo said, looking at her morpher, "thanks to you, I think we are."

"Super storm, upgrade!" they called as they inserted their tags into their morphers.

"The ranging rain! Super storm red!"

"The howling wind! Super storm blue!"

"The erratic lightning! Super storm green!"

"The freezing snow! Super storm white!"

"The rumbling clouds! Super storm black!"

Leo leveled her rain storm crosser at the cage that was shrinking in on its victims. She fired a destined and destroyed the roots. She nodded to the civilians. "Get out of here!" She was going to shoot another one when she saw something shine out of the corner of her eye. She spun around and held up her bow. The golden blast hit it and pushed her back a few feet. "Gold Ranger!"

"You won't get away from me this time Red Ranger," the Gold Ranger said as she raised her double blasters again.

Leo sighed. "Two of you get the civilians to safety! Two of you get the demon!"

"What about you?!" Austin demanded as he followed Chris towards the demon. Andy and Jasper made a beeline for the closest group of trapped civilians.

"I'm fighting the gold ranger!" Leo fired her blaster at Sun Storm, but the evil ranger dodged it and put her blasters together.

"Sun disc!" She threw it at Leo and the red ranger threw herself to the ground to avoid it. She fried at Sun Storm again. One of the shots hit her in the stomach, but she caught her disc and used it to block the others. She threw the disc at Leo again, but the red ranger rolled to the side to avoid getting hit. She scrambled to her feet and went on the offense, running at the gold ranger at top speed.

Meanwhile, Jasper smashed the upcoming roots with his cloud storm defender while Andy whipped at them with his whip. He brought it up over his head and flicked it out towards the trapped people. It wrapped around one of the roots that formed the bars of the cage as he yelled, "Blizz blitz!" He pulled back and broke the roots apart; destroying the cage. They moved on to the next one, Jasper blocking and smashing new roots as they went.

Austin and Chris were so busy dodging roots that it was hard for them to get close to Naturon. He wrapped roots around them, picking them up by the waists. "Haha! You Rangers are in over your heads!" He waved his arms and the roots threw the Rangers several yards. They hit the ground and Chris stood up and ran the the demon. She swiped at him with her wind claw, hitting the demon a couple of times before he summoned another root that wrapped around her legs. She was jerked back and Austin swung his axe at the demon.

He ducked under a root and cut through another. He swung again at the demon and hit him. The green ranger smiled and cut down three more roots that had tried to wrap themselves around him. One if them shot out of the ground and wrapped around the handle of his weapon. "Get off!" he growled, wrenching his ace free of the roots and spinning it around to quickly cut through it. He whacked another one that was about to wrap around Chris' neck. The two of them had awkward, kind of eye contact, before attacking the demon again.

Leo dodge the sun disc again and fired her cross-bow again. She shot at the sun disc, but missed due to its incredible speed. She ducked as the gold ranger threw a punch at her and kicked her in the stomach. She fired at her adversary again, but the Sun Storm ranger side-stepped her. She stumbled back after Sun Storm hit her in the chest with her sun disc. The gold ranger then threw it, but it soared last the gold ranger. Leo smiled, hoping she'd finally gained the upper as she kept firing at the gold ranger. She managed a few hits before she heard the first scream.

She turned around and saw the the sun disc had missed her because she hadn't been the target. The others were. The gold ranger held out her hand. "Solar flare!" she shouted. The disc hit Jasper and Andy across their backs, and at her command suddenly sent paralyzing heat and pain through their bodies. They screamed in agony and fell on the ground. The gold ranger suddenly shoved Leo to the side and ran to the two boys. She jumped up and caught her weapon. When she came back down she threw the disc directly at the black and white Rangers. "Solar flare!"

The pain was excruciating. Leo felt her blood freeze at the pain filled shrieks of agony coming from the black and white Rangers. Sun Storm simply laughed as the two of them de-morphed. Andy rolled over in pain, holding his torso and moaning. Jasper couldn't even move he was in so much pain. Both of them were dreading what would come next, but luckily the gold ranger was done with them. She ran at Austin and Chris next, much to the relief of the injured Rangers. She hit them before she even reached them, her sun disc slicing across their chests.

They were already on the ground when she reached them, but she didn't slow down in the slightest. She threw her solar disc with all her might, yelling "solar flare!" The following bright light and heat bombarded the two Rangers before they could figure out how to defend themselves. Chris shrieked and Austin let out a bone chilling howl of agony. They writhed on the ground for a long minute before de-morphing. They moaned and seized on the ground.

Leo wanted to help them. To draw the god ranger away from them. Unfortunately, Naturon was making that a little difficult to do. He created several large roots that whipped at the red ranger like snakes, forcing her to retreat. "Hahahahaha!" She laughed. "Looks like you're not as powerful as you thought red ranger!"

Leo's eyes burned behind her helmet. She raised her cross-bow and fired off five precise shots that destroyed the roots attacking her. She sprinted at the demon, and started firing at him. She hit him in the chest and she rolled to avoid more vines. She jumped over another one, then ducked under several more to reach him. She hit him with her cross-bow, then shot him in the face. "Stay. Away. From. My. Friends!" She shot him again, blasting him backwards. She shot at the gold ranger quickly, then re-focused her attention on the demon.

Sun Storm meanwhile, was certain the Rangers she'd attacked were no longer a threat. The blue ranger pushed her self up a little bit with her arms. They shook with the effort and she struggled to keep herself up as she looked at the gold ranger. Her arms suddenly gave out and she dropped painfully back onto the ground. Distantly she could see Leo battling the demon, and winning. She smiled before pain suddenly exploded behind her eyes and the world went dark.

The gold ranger threw her sun disc at the green ranger who had been moaning and writhing. As soon as the weapon hit his head he may still, knocked unconscious like the blue ranger next to him. She turned to the black and white Rangers, then threw her disc again. It hit Jasper in the head and he yelled in pain before he lost consciousness. Andy opened his eyes and the bright light of the sun disc was the last thing he saw before the world got very painful and then nothing. Sun Storm smirked and looked back at the red ranger. She rained blow upon blow on him; blasting away his roots like they were made of smoke.

_He's not going to last much longer,_ she thought. She looked back over the injured Rangers and smiled evilly. "I've already won today. I'll take my leave." She disappeared in a flash of bright light as Leo landed another hit on the demon. She blasted him again, then jump-kicked him in the face.

"No!" Naturon yelled as the red ranger blasted yet another wall of roots away. "I won't be beaten by you!"

"I'm not going to let you hurt my friends!" Leo shouted, channeling her power into her cross-bow. "Downpour strike!" Her blast hit him in the chest and destroyed him. "Guys!" she ran to help her friends, but a giant funnel cloud came down and resurrected Naturon. _Gosh darnit! _She was about to grab her zord ball, but hesitated. Without the others she wouldn't be able to form the megazord. _Will my zord be strong enough to defeat I?! __No time to waste, I have to fight. _She held out her hand. "Rain Cougar Zord!" Her super storm zord appeared and she was transported into the cockpit.

Naturon brought his arms up and entangled Leo's zord in roots. "Ahaha!" the demon laughed. "Now you really won't be able to stop me!" The cougar growled and bit at the roots, pulling them off. More wrapped around the neck, but the zord flipped around on its back and clawed the roots. The claws made quick work of them and the zord quickly got back on it's feet. It attacked the demon, jumping over the roots to get at him. Natron tried to avoid the claws but the zord still managed to rake it's claws down his back. He growled and roots suddenly grabbed the back legs of the cougar. It once again tore the plants off, making Naturon even more frustrated. "Aghh! Hold still!"

"Never!"

Naturon suddenly caused roots to wrap all around the zord. It's legs, neck, and torso trapped the red cat so that it couldn't move. Leo moved her hands like crazy, trying to free herself somehow. But there was no way to get out. The roots suddenly constructed around the zord. Sparks rained down on Leo as the roots squeezed tighter and tighter.

She tries to think of someway to get herald out of the situation. _I have to get away!_ She was about to call Quinn and ask for help, but then she stopped. _That's it!_ An idea came to her. She held up her morpher. "Storm chaser, online!" Her storm chaser zoomed straight to her and up the roots. Despite the small size of the bike in comparison to the roots, it broke them up enough for the zord to throw them off.

The Cougar tossed it's head and pulled the rest of them off with ease. Leo smiled, pleased her idea had worked, and the zord pounced on the demon. It clawed and bit the demon, pushing hmm back and throwing off his concentration. The twig like fingers scratched at the zord, but did no damage; nor did it manage to successfully get rid of the zord. The zord jumped off the demon, using him as a springboard.

"You're not going to hurt anyone ever again!" Leo shouted, powering up her zord for a final attack. "And I'll never let you demons hurt people on our world! As long as I'm here to stop it, nothing will destroy us!"

The Cougar roared and pounced at the demon with red light tingling its claws. It rakes it's front claws down Naturon's chest, then used the momentum to pull itself up. It then raked the raked the back paws across the demon and bit into him. Naturon yelled in pain and the Cougar jumped off. Leo smiled. She shot a blast out of its mouth. As soon as the blast hit the demon he blew up.

Leo smiled, satisfied with the outcome. All the roots on the city shriveled up and disappeared. She stopped smiling when she realized she was all alone. There was no one to high-five. "Uh...the storm has passed...I guess. Oh my word, the others!"

-Thunder Strike-

As soon as Leo was on the ground, she de-morphed and ran to her friends. She knelt down between Chris and Austin. "Chris! Austin!" She gently shook each of them as she said their names. "Guys get up!" She ran to Jasper and Andy next. "Jasper! Andy! Come on! Wake up please!" She pressed the communication button on her morpher. "Quinn! The others are hurt really bad! I'm going to send them back now!"

"Ok we're ready for them- wait where's Z?!"

Leo quickly grabbed Jasper's hand and pushed the teleportation button on it. The black ranger teleported away and she repeated the process for Andy. She hurried back to Chris and Austin, sending them back as well. "Storm chaser, online!" She hopped on her bike, noticing that the others were gone as well. _I'm sure Quinn has something to do with that!_ She started up her bike and teleported back to the house.

Once she got there she barely had time to break before she jumped off. Her bike clattered to the floor but she didn't care. She skirted around the corner and discovered the other Rangers all lying on the ground. Quinn and Z were crouched near them, both trying in vain to wake them up. "I've already tried," Leo explained. "They won't wake up."

"They're breathing," Z said, checking all their pulses. "Pluses are strong. A little slow, but nothing worrisome. They're just out cold."

"How did this happen?!" Quinn demanded, pulling up Andy's shirt. She discovered burns all along his back, as well as a nasty gash with seared edges on the back of his head.

"Quinn you start on Andy. Leo you take Chris. Put ointment on every burn. We won't be able to stitch the gashes. Luckily they aren't bleeding a lot. Just make sure to bandage them tightly."

Quinn got to work, spreading the ointment around on Andy's burns. "You never answered me. What happened?"

"The gold ranger," Leo answered quietly, wrapping bandages around Chris' head. "The gold ranger happened."

Quinn looked up suddenly. Leo glanced her way and saw a glass of something indescribable in her eyes. Fear? Uncertainty? Denial? She went back to her task. She took great care to be as gentle as possible. (Everything is going to be ok,) she thought to herself. (Everything is going to be ok.)

-Thunder Strike-

A few hours after everyone had first aid applied and were laid down in their bed rooms, Leo stood in the hallway silently. She waited outside Chris' door. It opened and she stood up straighter. "Well?" she asked as Z came out. "How is she?"

"She's resting still. Very responsive," Z replied. "They're all going to be fine Leo. Plenty of rest and time to recover and this'll be back on the streets fighting demons in no time."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely. Trust me." Leo nodded and felt a weight lift off her chest. She scuffed her feet idly on the carpet. Z noticed this. "You know, I really think you need to go talk to Quinn."

"You do?"

"Absolutely. You're her first best friend." He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Besides, my red ranger stands up in the face of danger. She doesn't flinch, right?"

Leo smiled, pride surging through her from Z's words. "Alright. I'll go talk to her."

"That's my girl." Z walked away, and it was only once he was half way down the stairs to the second floor did he realize what he'd just said.

Meanwhile, Leo forced herself to approach Quinn's door. She knocked cautiously. "Quinn? Quinn can I come in?" She opened the door and stepped inside. Quinn was on her balcony, leaning on the railing. Leo joined her and neither of them said anything for a minute. "Quinn I-"

"I'm sorry," Quinn said suddenly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. For kissing you. I...I didn't know...well apparently I didn't know a lot of things. But I especially didn't know that it would be bad- or at least that it might be for you. I just..." She looked down at her hands. "I just really like you. And I thought/ hoped that you'd feel the same. I'm sorry I messed up...well everything."

"You didn't mess up anything. It was me. I shouldn't have over reacted. I just..." Leo tapped her fingers. "Have you ever wanted something? And your heart tells you it's right but your brain tells you it's wrong?"

Quinn suddenly had a sad look on her face. "Yeah," she whispered, glancing whistfully at Leo's morpher. "I do."

"Quinn...I-I can't really...I can't deny that I...might have feelings for you."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. I just...I have to..." Leo took a deep breath. "It will complicate things for me. With my family. With my church. But that's later. And none of them are here right now. And right now..." She slid her hand over and rested it gently on Quinn's. "Right now I think I'd really like to be more than your friend."

"Really?!"

"Really-" Leo stopped when Quinn hugged her. She hesitated for a second and gave her a tentative hug back. "We just...I need you to take it slow. Ok? I need time to...adjust as we go."

"Ok." Quinn let go. "Not that this conversation isn't fun, but how are the others?"

"They're going to be fine."

"The gold ranger...really hurt them. Huh?"

"Aren't you usually watching us fight? Did you not see what happened?"

"I...I don't remember. I haven't been sleeping well and it's causing me to have gaps in my memory."

"Well you're right though. She really did hurt them. She's powerful Quinn. Very powerful." Quinn nodded, lost in thought. "I have to destroy her."

"Mhm- wait what?!" Quinn spun around and looked at Leo. "Did you just say you're going to destroy the gold ranger?!"

"Yes! I have to! Quinn...she's a demon!"

"You don't know that!"

"What else could she be?! She said so heralded she's not from this world! She brutally attacked the others even when they posed no threat to her! She's dangerous and has to be stopped!"

Quinn sighed. "Leo you can't-"

"Why not?!"

"Leo...you know my dad was a power ranger. What you don't know is...he was an evil one."

"What? But...but I thought your dad was one of the greatest power rangers in history?"

"He is. But when he started as a ranger, he wasn't figuring for the good guys. My dad was put under a spell by a witch. She gave him his powers and he used them for evil."

"So the gold ranger was right? The Power can be used for evil?"

"Yeah. It can."

"What did your dad do?"

"He destroyed the rangers' command center. Beat them in battles. Kidnapped the red ranger, almost killed him. He almost beat them."

"I...wow."

Quinn nodded. "The spell was broke when the red ranger destroyed the sword of darkness. It freed my dad and he ties do to the good side."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't think the gold ranger is a demon. Yes what she's doing is bad, but she may not even be aware of what's going on. She probably has no control. We've seen how powerful Stormicon and his demons are. They could easily use that power to take control of a demon."

"Quinn, I don't think this is like that. I mean...with your dad...that's not mismatch right now. He was under a spell. That doesn't mean this evil ranger is."

"Trust me Leo, I think the situation might be way more similar than you think."

The red ranger sighed. "I just don't believe it. We'll figure this out." She put her hand on Quinn's shoulder. "Don't worry, Quinn, this won't be like when it was your dad. We'll get rid of the gold ranger before she can do too much damage." Leo left and Quinn leaned on her balcony.

"Oh I think we've already passed that," she whispered, a thousand things running through her mind. "I think this situation is far more similar than any of us realize."

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: the rangers find themselves in different bodies after a monster fight. Quinn meanwhile is closer than ever to the identity of the gold ranger.


	56. Episode 19: Body Snatchers Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIX: Body Snatchers

Chapter One: Tense Situations

A/N: Hey guys. sorry about the lack of updates. My life kind of went to hell in a hand basket and then I didn't have a laptop. But things are better now and I have a new laptop. Also I've been writing some Young Justice one-shots I may post to this account. Don't know if that interests you guys, but if it does you have that to look forward to.

"No friendship is an accident." -O. Henry

Austin walked into the library, only to stop inside the door. Leo and Quinn were seated at a table; head bent close together over something. He smiled slyly. "Is it ok to come in, or do you guys need more privacy?" he asked loudly, causing the two girls to jump.

"Austin!" Leo cried. "You scared us!"

He chuckled as walked closer. "Doing private things in here?"

"Just school-work." Leo could feel herself blushing.

"Ugh! In June?!"

Quinn frowned. "What's wrong with that? I do school-work year round."

"School normally ends in the summer," Leo explained. She looked at Austin. "She was just helping me with math."

Quinn smiled proudly and nodded. "With my help, we'll have Leo doing math at an Algebra 1 level in no time." She turned to the red ranger. "Which is why we can't stop even if it's summer. We have a lot of ground to cover to get you up to speed. But we can stop for today. I have work to do anyways."

"Alright," Leo replied. She shut the textbook and happily put her papers away. "Don't forget to come up to my room later for your music lesson."

"Right." Quinn stood up, then stopped when she felt Leo's hand on hers.

"I mean it. Don't lock yourself away in your lab."

Quinn's mouth tightened, but she quickly reworked it into a smile. "I won't. Promise."

The red ranger nodded and gave her friend's hand a squeeze. Quinn started blushing and practically ran out of the library. Her heart was pounding in excitement. Leo heard a chuckle and looked at Austin. "What?"

"Nothing," the green ranger smiled. "It's just...different."

"What's different?"

"You. When you're with Computer Q you look different."

"How?"

"I don't know. More...relaxed. Like...like you're sunbathing."

"Sunbathing?"

"Definitely."

Leo giggled. "That's...an interesting comparison."

"I try, I try. If you want something more poetic try Ace. He's good at that stuff."

"True." Leo stood up and started leaving.

"Where're you going?"

"You mean where are we going? It's time for fighting practice."

Austin made a face as he followed. "Do we have to? We just had practice this morning!"

"Yes we do."

"Ugh!" Austin trudged off to his room to change back into his sweat pants. He passed Jasper on the way to his room and the black ranger noticed the look on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Fighting practice."

"Oh yeah. Why are you cranky about that? You do remember that the gold ranger almost killed us right?"

"No sorry, I fucking forgot that Psycho Ranger almost fried my brains!"

"What brains?" Andy asked, poking his head out of his room.

Austin flipped them both off and stalked off to his room. He changed into his green sweat pants and pulled a white t-shit over his head. This was the standard apparel for practice; while it wasn't verbally agreed upon, everyone still wore it. He left his room and trudged downstairs to the dojo. He walked in and found Chris was already there with Leo. The two girls were discussing something when he made his presence known. "I'm not last today."

"That's very good improvement," Leo said.

"Oh so you've learned to tell time?" Chris asked, giving him a look of disdain.

Austin scowled. "I know it's time for you to go fuck yourself."

Andy walked in and blinked. "Can I just walk back out?"

Chris clenched her teeth. "Get a life scumbag."

"Make me Princess!"

"Screw you!"

"Promise?"

"Ok!" Leo yelled loudly. She was holding Chris' arms and Andy and Jasper were holding Austin's. "You two need to calm down."

"We're all friends here," Andy added, but the blue and green rangers gave him a look of shock.

"Like is ever be friends with this pot-head!" Chris snapped.

"I'd never want to be friends with a pretentious bitch like you anyways!" Austin shouted.

"I said enough!" Leo yelled. "You guys know the rules. You don't have to like each other, but you do have to work together. Understood?"

"Yes Leo."

"Yes Leo."

"Good." She released Chris and Jasper and Andy released Austin. "Let's get to work. If we're ever going to defeat the Gold Ranger we need to improve our abilities."

"As if she wasn't powerful enough, she rocks the hand-to-hand," Jasper commented. "She's well trained."

Andy nodded in agreement. "We'll need to up our game in order to beat her."

"Austin, Jasper, you three start sparring. Andy you'll do a three-way spar with me and Chris," Leo instructed. Everyone nodded and they split off into their groups. Jasper gave Austin a playful shove and the two of them squared off. Leo took a stance as Chris and Andy got ready to attack.

Meanwhile, Quinn was down in her lab staring at her monitors. She wasn't actually doing anything on them. Just swiveling back and forth while she slouched down. He mind jumped from thought to thought, trying to come to some kind of solution. It was like her brain just didn't want to cooperate. _The pieces are all there, I know they are,_ she thought to herself. _I just...need more solid proof. _She stood up and walked over to her work tables.

"Blackouts, strange bruises, blinding dreams, lapses in memory," she muttered under her breath as she searched through her bins of discarded and broken technology. Waste not want not and all that. She eventually pulled out what she needed. A broken security camera. She looked it over and flipped it upside down. She sat down and began looking over the wires and trying to figure out what was wrong with it.

-Thunder Strike-

Austin flinched as he hit the mats again. "Seriously?" he growled. "Do you have to throw me so hard?"

Jasper rolled his eyes and helped the green ranger to his feet. "I'm not throwing you nearly as hard as the gold ranger would be. Just so you know." This elicited a groan from Austin.

"I don't see why we don't just take her down."

"Brilliant!" Chris declared sarcastically. She blocked a pink from Andy, but Leo kicked her in the side. "Next time we should just beat her! Can't believe we didn't think of that!"

"I wasn't asking you!"

"Well if you're going to ask stupid questions-"

"Stop!" the other three rangers groaned in unison. All sparring had stopped and Andy glared at them with his hands on his hips.

"Seriously, should we get you two a 'get along shirt' or something?" he asked.

"Yeah some of us get sick of the arguing," Jasper added.

"I was just pointing out Austin's stupidity!" Chris yelled in her own defense.

"Well you don't need to! You're not Z and you're not the leader!"

"Somebody has to!"

"Why?!" Andy demanded. "Why do you care so much?! If you really hate him as much as you say you do, why do you care about what he says or does?!"

Leo opened her mouth, ready to tell the team to stop fighting when the alarms went off. She sighed and ran towards the basement, the other Rangers hot on her heels. They bolted downstairs and found Quinn getting down from standing on a chair. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing," Quinn replied quickly. She sat down and looked at her map of sensors. "Looks like there's two attacks."

"Ok, send us the coordinates-"

"Already done."

"Chris come with me. Boys, you three go handle the other attack. Let's go!" They made their way quickly to their bikes. I_t would be very nice if we had an even number of Rangers on the team._ She got on and started her bike; knowing from the sounds around her that others were doing the same. At least they weren't fighting anymore. She lead them out to the battle.

Quinn glanced back once they were gone. She stood up and pushed her chair over to the wall. She hopped up onto it and pushed the record button on the camera. She nodded to herself and jumped back down. She was going to be ready this time.

-Thunder Strike-

Leo and Chris looked around once they'd stopped their bikes. There was a severe lack of...chaos in their location. There were no demons around, Darklings or otherwise. But there weren't any civilians ether. Cars on the street were abandoned; as if people he gotten out and run off. Which wasn't uncommon at a battle...except there was nothing there that could have scared them.

"I'm probably going to regret asking this," Chris said as they got off their storm chasers. "But where's the demon?"

Leo's eyes brows furrowed. "I-I don't know." Her morpher beeped and she pressed the communication button. "Yeah?"

"Leo," Jasper said, sounding as confused as the girls, "there's no demons here."

"Civilians?"

"Negative."

"This doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe Quinn's sensors are acting up," Andy said; his voice coming through the morpher next.

"Then why would all the civilians be gone?" Chris asked. "Something doesn't add up here."

Leo nodded. "Look around, but keep your guard up."

"Got it," Jasper replied. He, Andy, and Austin all went separate ways. They looked for any signs of demons or what had scared everyone off. Suddenly, Jasper felt something making him shiver. He looked around in confusion. "What-" before he could finish his thought something slammed him from behind. "Ah!"

"Jasper!" Andy yelled. He ran over to the black ranger as the weirdest thing happened. A mirage...if you could call it that...was pulling Jasper...out of his body. It was like a magic eye book. Look directly at it and you missed it. All he could see definitively was that an unconscious Jasper-ghost was pulled out of his body. He ran towards the demon but Austin beat him to it.

"Austin don't-" he began, but the green ranger wasn't listening.

Austin stopped suddenly. He felt needle-like projections sticking into his chest. "Fuck! Ah!"

Distantly Andy could hear Quinn's voice coming through his morpher. "Guys! What's going on? Guys!"

The demon suddenly jerked its arm back, at least Andy was pretty sure it did, and Austin's body fell back. Standing in its place was an Austin-ghost. Andy's mouth fell open. This was weird even for them. Before he could do anything the Japser-ghost was thrown at Austin's body. Andy blinked and ran at the demon, not sure what he could do, but he had to do something. Before he could actually do something, like morph, he felt needles suddenly poking his neck. He gasped in pain. His world suddenly went dark and he lost all feeling in his body.

The next thing he knew he was lying on his stomach. He groaned and looked around for the demon, but didn't see anything. "Jasper. Austin. You guys ok?"

"Seriously, did you just refer to yourself in the first person?" Austin grumbled. Andy frowned. Austin's body hadn't moved yet.

"What?" Andy began as he pushed himself up, but then the sources of the voice crawled into his field of view. "Oh shit."

-Thunder Strike-

Leo and Chris didn't stray too far from each other. Unlike the boys they didn't trust the situation enough to leave each other's side. So they stayed no more than three of five feet apart. Which is why when Chris suddenly felt needles stabbing her in the back of the neck, Leo was quick to respond to her friend's scream. But there wasn't anything to respond to. Just Chris standing rigidly and in obvious pain.

"What-" Leo gasped as hot pain suddenly stabbed her collar bone. It was like needles were being injected there. Her vision went black and she lost all feeling in her body. Next thing she knew she was lying on her stomach, facing the under side of a car. She moaned. "Chris?"

"Yeah?" Chris replied.

"Are you ok?" Leo turned around and gasped.

Chris' mouth dropped open. "I don't think ok is the correct word to describe this situation."


	57. Episode 19: Body Snatchers Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIX: Body Snatchers

Chapter Two: Wrong Body, Wrong Mindset

A/N: Yay, another chapter done! I'm trying to power through to the next episode because I'm super excited for it! Read this for now though!

"No friendship is an accident." -O. Henry

Andy blinked and blinked again, but that didn't make what he saw any weirder. "You-you're me!" he managed.

The Andy in front of him gave him a look. "No I'm Austin. You're Jasper."

"Huh? I'm not Jasper. I'm Andy. A-and that's Austin!" He pointed to Austin's body. The other Andy looked and his mouth dropped open.

"Holy fucking shit!" Ok it was weird hearing language like that coming from his mouth. "What the fucking hell-"

"Austin!" the other Austin groaned rubbing his eyes. "Stop with the swearing."

The other Andy scowled and grabbed Austin's shirt. He jerked him up into a sitting position so he could see Andy. "You telling me you don't want to swear about this?!"

Austin's eyes widened. "Oh...what...who are you?!" He looked down at himself and yelled. "Ah! What am I...how did I..." He looked back at Andy. "This isn't good."

"No shit Sherlock."

"Ok, ok," Andy said as the three of them stood up. "Let's try to figure this out. I'm Andy." He pointed to himself. "You're Austin." He pointed to his body. "So you must be Jasper." He pointed to Austin's body.

"So then...that means...we switched bodies," Jasper realized.

"Freaky," Austin whispered. "What's with the face?" He scrutinized his face, which was in scrunched up in disgust.

"I'm in your drug-filled body."

"Hey!"

"I'm calling the girls," Andy said. "We need to warn them."

"Good idea."

Andy pushed the communication button on his morpher, hesitating for only a second when he saw the black strap and cloud design on his morpher. "Leo. Leo?"

"Y-yeah?"

Andy blinked. "Are you ok?"

"I'm...I'm not sure. Are you guys ok?"

The three boys gave each other a look. "Um..."

"I don't think 'ok' is the correct word for the situation," Jasper muttered.

"We'll come to you guys," Leo said, still sounding like she was unsure if she was experiencing real life. "Just...wait."

"Don't burn something down," Chris added.

"Got it." Andy sighed wrapped his arms around himself. He frowned and looks down at himself. It was weird to be so...built. Jasper had a lot more muscles than he did.

"I'd say we hit a new level of weird," Austin said, examining his shirt. "Even for us." The other two nodded. Hopefully the girls would be there soon so they could get this figured out.

-Thunder Strike-

This had to be a bizarre dream. A hallucination brought on by a demon spell. That's the only way this made any sense. she was staring at her own body. Except she had a body. Leo's body! She ran a hand over her arms. She could feel the calloused finger tips that brushed over her skin. _Why are Leo's fingers so calloused?_

"Violin."

"Huh?!" _Please don't be mind reading too. That was hard enough the first time._

"My hands." Leo nodded to the fact that Chris was staring at her, Leo's, hands. "They're calloused from years of playing violin."

"Oh."

"Come on, let's go get the guys."

"I just hopped they haven't killed each other." The two girls got on their bikes, then looked at each other. "My zord ball won't start your storm chaser, will it?"

"Nope."

Chris sighed and they switched bikes. She frowned at the red color and hawk on the front; her mind automatically telling her she was wrong. _Well apparently for __today, and I pray to God it's just for today, it's the right one. So shut up brain. _The two of them started the bikes and teleported to the boys. When they got there, Chris could tell the three of them were in the same predicament.

"Did you guys switch bodies?!" Andy demanded.

Leo nodded. "We did."

"This is fucking gross," Austin said. Leo blinked.

"I take it you're Austin then."

Jasper nodded. "I'm Jasper and he's Andy."

"This won't be confusing at all," Chris muttered, rolling her eyes.

"It's so weird hearing sarcasm from Leo's mouth," Andy said. "I hear the words, but the face doesn't match."

"Come on," Leo said. "Let's go back."

"Am I the only one curious as to why these places are deserted?" Jasper asked as they got on their bikes. The boys automatically tried to start theirs, only to realized they had the wrong word balls and storm chaser tags. "Uh..."

"Switch bikes," Chris told them. This isn''t rocket science."

Leo over heard Austin mumbling something about Chris under his breath as the three of them switched bikes. They settled uncomfortably on the seats and started them. The five rangers drove off.

-Thunder Strike-

Once they were back in the house, the rangers found Quinn waiting for them. "Before you can ask," she said, leaning back in her seat, "no I can't fix it."

"How did you know we were going to ask?" Andy asked as they crowded around her.

"Don't you usually? Whatever it is, wait for the demon to show his face again."

"What if we told you we switched bodies?"

Quinn froze and spun around in her chair. Leo smiled. She always found it adorable how it made Quinn look like a super villain. "You switched bodies? For real?"

Leo nodded. "Leo, Chris, Jasper, Andy, Austin."

"Whoa. Weird. Well today should be a good day." She spun around again.

"Training. Now."

"What? Now?" Jasper asked. Austin groaned.

Z put his hand on Leo's shoulder, then blinked and put it on Chris'. "Chr-Leo. Are you sure that's a good idea right now?" Leo nodded. "Well...ok."

The rangers all filed upstairs with Z behind them. Leo hung back for a second and leaned on the back of Quinn's chair. Quinn stopped what she was doing and leaned her head back. "You still look great, Beautiful. Don't worry," she smiled.

"Not what I was going to ask you, but ok."

"What were you going to ask me?"

"Never mind. I'll ask later. I should get upstairs."

"Ok."

"You gonna join us?"

Quinn considered it. "Yeah, why not?" She took Leo's hand and the two of them went upstairs. They found the others already in the dojo with Z trying to demonstrate a new move to the team.

"No, Jasper-" he began, only to get cut off by a head shake.

"I'm not Jasper I'm Andy."

"Sorry, Andy. You need to place more power in your kick. That's where the momentum comes from." He spotted Quinn in the doorway and motioned to her. "Show them." Quinn grinned as she practically skipped into the room. She stood in front of Z and held out her hands. He grabbed her wrists and crossed them. Quinn jumped up and kicked him in the chest with both her feet. She used her momentum to flip backwards, breaking Z's grip on her. "See? Easy?"

Austin snorted. "Yeah. Easy."

"I'm pretty sure you guys routinely forget we don't have years of martial arts training?" Andy asked.

"Excuse me," Jasper coughed.

"Can you do that?"

"...no."

"How aboout you guys try it?" Z suggested.

"So we can crack our fucking heads open?" Austin demanded.

"Language. And if you want to beat the gold ranger you'll need to do more than throw round-house kicks."

None of the rangers could really argue with that. They all paired up, almost everyone stumbling when they went for the person who looked like their normal partners. But it quickly became obvious that this wasn't going to work. Leo tried to pull off the move, only to land on her face. Austin couldn't even pull himself up; and Jasper kept ripping over his own feet. Chris couldn't break Andy's hold on her wrists, while Andy was having a hard time with the kick.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Quinn asked.

"Besides the obvious?" Leo asked her.

"You guys do stuff like this in your suits all the time!"

"Well we aren't in our suits!" Austin snapped. "We aren't even in our own fucking bodies!"

"Language-" Z began.

"fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuckity Fuck Fuck!"

"Austin! This sin't how heroes of the world act!"

"Some heroes we are!" Jasper yelled. "We can't even stop the Gold Ranger! She almost killed us!"

"Taking down thick-headed demons is nothing. But give us an actual challenge, and we're sitting ducks!" Austin walked out, grumbling under his breath.

"Like we can take down anyone looking like we do," Chris added as she followed. Andy and Jasper followed suit.

"I'd say that went well," Quinn said. "If anyone needs me I'll be downstairs." She left Leo and Z, who looked equally frustrated.

"I don't understand," Leo said. "Why are they reacting like this?"

"It''s the fight last week with the Gold Ranger," Z told her. "Their confidence is shaken after she took them down so easily."

"But it's not their fault. She's more powerful than we are."

"Together, you five are the most powerful force on the planet."

"So why don't you tell them that?"

He gave her an amused look. "I usually don't need to. They feed off the confidence from you."

"Me?"

"Yes. Even though Austin gives me gray hairs, and God knows there's still a lot for you all to learn, my job is relatively easy. You guys look after each other and you keep them in line. All I have to do is make sure you're capable of fighting the demons."

Leo smiled. _Together we're the strongest force on Earth... _"I have to go."

"Where?"

"To keep the team together!" Leo called as she ran off. "To fix this!"


	58. Episode 19: Body Snatchers Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XIX: Body Snatchers

Chapter Three: Five Rangers, One Goal

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry about the hiatus. I just started college and I've been so busy! Hopefully I'll be able to udate again soon. Stay with me, the story's ony getting better from here.

"No friendship is an accident." -O. Henry

Locating the others wasn't hard. It was getting them out of the bedrooms that was hard. She found Austin curled up on his balcony, glaring through the railing. "Come on," she said.

"Go away!" Austin snapped. "I"m not in the mood for an inspirational speech."

"Then I won't give you one." Leo went over and grabbed his arm. "Come on. Let's go." The green ranger, well black for now, groaned as he was pulled to his feet. She dragged him out of his room and over to hers. He flopped onto the floor as soon as she let go. "Stay."

"Woof."

She sought out Jasper next and found him sitting on his bed. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Let's go," Leo said as she grabbed his hand. She pulled him off and dragged him out.

"What're you doing Leo?"

"What needs to be done." She left Jasper in her room with Austin, the two boys pointedly not looking at each other. Next, she grabbed Andy; who was in his bedroom, hiding behind a pile of books.

"Ow! Chris-Leo! What're you doing?!" he demanded as she dragged him out.

"I'm bringing you with me," she said simply as she dragged him out. They knocked the pile over in their struggles, but she was fine with that. Andy apparently was not, since he mumbled about how he'd have to pick them all up later. She dropped him next to Jasper and went to get Chris. She found the other girl trying, unsuccessfully, to do some ballet moves.

"I dance when I'm stressed," Chris defended. Leo smiled. It was still weird seeing herself do that. "Your muscles aren't developed in the right way for me to do a lot though."

"Sorry. I could say the same thing about you though. I'd make my-your fingers bleed if I tried to play violin like I normally do."

"Yeah I guess."

"Come on." Leo held out her hand. "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"My room."

"Why?"

"Because." Chris sighed and took Leo's hand. She led the blue, red for now, ranger out of the room. They joined the boys, who were still sitting where she'd left them. She sat down with Chris so that all five of them were in a circle.

"Ok, we're here," Austin sighed. "What, magical, all-knowing red ranger advice do you have for us?"

"None." The others looked at each other.

"None?" Andy asked her cautiously.

"None."

"Then...why are we here?" Chris asked.

"To play a game!"

"A game?"

Jasper frowned. "What kind of game?"

"A...trust building exercise. Kind of. All you have to do, is look at the person on your right, and name one of their strengths that makes us all stronger as a team." They all gave her blank looks. "Watch." She looked at Chris. "Chris' skills with dance and athleticism give us a great advantage in a fight." She looked at Chris expectantly.

"Um...ok. Jasper's...fighting ability do a lot to make up for our lack of abilities. Making the team balanced and stronger." She looked at Jasper.

Jasper cleared his throat. "Alright. Andy's...creativity and ingenuity give us a one up on the demons to derail their plans."

Andy nodded and looked at Austin. "Austin's passion and resilience help us fight through the hardest of situations."

Austin glanced at Leo, then smiled. "Holy Smackdown's confidence and superb leadership makes us all confident and keeps us fighting as a unit." The other four rangers stared at Leo's beaming face in confusion. "What exactly was the point of all this?"

"To show you guys that none of these qualities are confined to our bodies. The things that make us great are still great."

"So?" Andy asked. "What's the point? No matter how strong we are, the gold ranger is going to be stronger. She'll just beat us every time."

Leo didn't say anything. "This is about the gold ranger, isn't it? Because of how she...hurt you guys."

"Hurt? Hurt?!" Japer demanded."She whipped us! We almost died! I've never felt so much pain in my life! We thought we were going to die Leo! Maybe you don't get that because she didn't fry you too!" No one said anything. "We can't just pack up and move on! Not when it feels like she's always looking over our shoulders!"

The red ranger didn't say anything for a minute. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she didn't get the chance to answer because their morphers went off. Leo stood up. "For the record, you guys weren't the only ones who were helpless that day. But we aren't helpless. Especially not together. Far from it." She pressed the teleportation button on her-Chris' morpher. The rangers didn't move for a second. Jasper was the fist one to stand up.

"We can't let her down," he said, almost sounding confused himself. "We can't." Andy nodded and joined him. Chris sighed and stood up as well. They all looked at Austin. Jasper held out his hand and the green ranger took it. He was pulled to his feet and the four of them teleported down to the basement. They didn't say anything to Quinn as they ran to their bikes. Leo was sitting on Chris' bike.

"I knew you guys would come," she smiled. The others nodded and got on their bikes. They then got on the bikes they'd actually be able to start and the team left for battle.

\- Thunder Strike -

This time when they arrived at the scene of the fight there were actually demons there. The Darklings were herding people into small groups, so Leo gave the rangers a nod and they sped up. They hopped off their bikes and stood in front of the demons. "Leave these people alone!" Leo shouted. The Darlings quickly crowded, eager to take on the rangers. This actually worked in the Rangers' favor though because it prevented the trapped civilians from seeing them.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the five of them yelled.

"Blue cloud ranger!" Leo shouted.

"Red rain ranger!" Chris yelled.

"White snow ranger!" Austin shouted.

"Black cloud ranger!" Andy yelled.

"Green lightning ranger!" Jasper shouted.

"Clear skies are straight ahead!" the shouted in unison.

"Destroy them!" a voice ordered. The rangers pulled out the blasters and started firing at the attacking demons.

"Boys, free the civilians!" Leo shouted. "We'll take these guys!"

"Right!" the boys replied. The three of them took off running through the throng. They fired and destroyed demons as they ran, doing their best to try and get through the group. They split up, each one weaving through the throng separately. Andy smiled and started riding at their legs. He laughed as they tripped over each other without kneecaps. He kicked them and jumped over them as he continued firing on them. This was a lot easier. Meanwhile, Jasper was delivering very fast, efficient kicks and punches that took the demons down with his blaster fire. He shot one in the sea,d then kicked the one behind it in the chest. One off to the side tried to grab his arm, but he punched it and pulled away at the same time.

_These guys aren't slowing me down, _he thought. _No way in hell!_

Austin was literally just forcing his way through them. He fired his blaster to remove large groups, but for the most part just tried to elbow and shove his way past them. It wasn't a terrible way to get through, since he was able to keep pace with the other two. The Darklngs attempted to jump on him, but he shot them all before they could get a good grip. He swung his elbow into another one, knocking it onto it's back. He surged onwards, taking down the demons was only too easy.

Chris shot the few Darklings that managed to get close to her and Leo. "We have to find the demon!" She kicked one in the chest and and flipped over the one behind it. She shot it in the back and jumped easily over the next.

Leo looked around, trying to spot the demon. She heard something move behind her and before she could shoot it, it grabbed her neck. She couldn't breathe and was lifted off her feet. She kicked at the empty air; dropping her blaster in her panic. She heard someone laughing. "Let's see how you Rangers deal without your leader!" Leo let out a strangled squeak as the hands on her throat got smaller.

Austin threw the last Darkling off the civilians and saw their leader in peril. "Shit!" he yelled, sprinting to help.

"Don't swear in front of the civilians!" Jasper snapped as he followed. Andy sighed and followed as well as the last stragglers ran from the battle. The four rangers ran to help Leo, but stopped in their tracks when a column of light suddenly appeared before them. Sun Storm raised both her blasters, leveled at them. Leo could see the conflicted and hesitated feelings in their body language. She let out another strangled squeak from the hands around her neck.

"Leo!" Chris yelled. She reached for her blaster as they dove away from the gold ranger's fire. "We have to help her!"

"In case you haven't noticed, the last time we fought the sun demon over there, we nearly died!" Austin snapped as they took cover behind a car. Chris glared at him, uncaring of the fact that he couldn't see it. Her body language was enough to get his hackles rised though.

"Knock it off!" Andy yelled, literally putting himself between them. "We have to help Leo!"

"How?!" Austin demanded.

Jasper suddenly stood up, side-stepping a blast of dark golden light. "What we've always done. By working together and using our strengths." Andy nodded, glad someone was taking charge of this situation. They looked at Austin and Chris. Chris sighed and stood up as well.

"No more hiding," she said, gripping her blaster.

Austin joined her. "Let's show them why they don't fuck with us!'

"Andy, Jasper, distract Goldy," Chris told them. "Austin and I will get Leo."

"Right!" the two boys said They climbed up on the car and started firing at the gold ranger. Her double blasts missed the tow of them as they quickly dodged.

"That all you got?!" Andy demanded. He bent backwards to avoid a blast that tried to hit him in the head. He lost his balance and ended up falling off the car. Jasper reached out and grabbed him by his suit; pulling him back up.

"Smooth," he smirked. Before Andy could defend himself they had to jump down to avoid getting hit in the head.

Chris and Austin meanwhile snuck closer to Leo; running bent over and dodging behind objects. Chris took her weapons tag from her neck and put them in her blaster. "Rain sticks!" She jumped up ran at the monster. Before he could react she jumped up and came down, s him on the back. The demon dropped Leo, who fell into Austin's arms. He stumbled back and fell, cushioning her fall with his body. Leo coughed and gasped, finally able to breathe again.

"You ok?" Andy asked as he and Jasper joined the others. The rangers all crowded around Leo.

"Where's the gold ranger?" Chris asked them.

"No clue. We lost her."

She nodded, rubbing her neck gently. "I'm ok." The Rangers turned to glare at the demon.

"Big mistake fucker," Austin growled, twirling his blaster threateningly.

"Let's get rid of him." They all reached for their super storm tags and inserted them into their morphers.

"Super Storm, upgrade!" the five of them yelled.

"The howling wind, super storm blue!"

"The raging rain, super storm red!"

"The freezing ice, super storm white!"

"The rumbling cloud, super storm black!"

"The erratic lightning, super storm green!"

Jasper and Andy attacked first, hitting the demon on his barely visible chest.

"Lightning storm axe!"

"Cloud storm defender!"

Chris and Austin went next, sending him back several feet.

"Rain storm crosser!"

"Ice storm striker!"

Leo went last, putting all of her strength into her hit.

"Wind storm claws!"

"No!" the demon protested.

"Super Storm Striker!" the five of them yelled in unison.

"The spell was supposed to tear you all apart!"

"Nice try!" Leo smirked.

"Fire!"

The blast hit the demon, who threw his hand sin the air. "No! How could my plan fail!" He exploded and the ghosts if the Rangers were pulled out of their bodies. The spirits were quickly deposited back in their correct bodies. Leo opened her eyes and looked down at her body. she looked at Chris who nodded. The boys shared a three-way high-fiv e. Jasper saw something behind the girls and pulled them behind him, moving his shield up in the next motion.

"Look out!" he shouted. The golden blasts bounced off his shield, shaking him from the force. Leo stepped in front of the team.

"Leo, what're you doing?!" Austin hissed as they tightened their grip on their weapons.

_I have to try,_ she thought as she stepped closer to the Gold Ranger. She set her weapons down and held her hands up. The others watched worriedly. "Gold Ranger," Leo said, taking another step forward. "We don't want to hurt you."

"I'm your enemy," Sun Storm replied.

"But you don't have to be." Leo walked forward again. "Please. Let us help you."

"I don't need your help!" Sun Storm turned around and Leo saw her chance. She reached out and put her hand on the gold ranger's shoulder. Before she could move, Sun Storm spun around and put her blaster to the red ranger's ribs. She fired and Leo was thrown backwards.

"Ah!" she de-morphed when she hit the ground.

"Leo!" the others yelled. They sprinted forward, Andy flicking his whip out at the gold ranger.

"Leo!" Chris yelled, kneeling next to her friend. Leo moaned. "Guys she's really hurt!"

"All of you are going to be hurt soon!" the demon yelled, coming back giant.

"Fuck!" Austin swore. He looked back at the gold ranger, only to discover that she was gone. "That bitch-"

"Austin focus!" Jasper snapped. "Chris, get Leo somewhere safe!"

Chirs nodded. She and Andy carefully lifted the red ranger up, ignoring her cry of pain. They set her down off to the side where she'd be safe. "We'll be right back." The remaning four rangers held out their hands.

"Cloud storm stallion!"

"Lightning storm coyote!"

"Ice Storm butterfly!"

"Cloud storm canine!"

The Rangers entered their super storm zords and surrounded the demon. They all wanted the battle over quickly. Leo needed them. Chris' zord ran forward and kicked the demon with its hindlegs as it leapt over the demon. Austin's and Jasper's ran forward and grabbed each of his hands. Thye both pulled, causing the demon to yell in pain. They held tight, allowing Andy to literally fly his zord into the demon. The black and green rangers' released the demon, letting him fall to the ground. Chirs' zord quickly stampeded over him before he could get up. The Rangers surrounded him again as he slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"You can't beat me with only four of you!" he yelled. He screamed as Austin's zord leapt through the air and bite the demon's face. He pulled the demon back to the ground and let go.

"There could be a negative amount of us! We'll still kick your ass back to your home dimension!" Austin snapped.

"You divide won't divide us again!" Chris added.

"No matter how hard you hit us!" Jasper agreed.

"Let's end this clown!" Andy said. The four of them put their hands on their controls. The demon was suddenly hit with four different blasts from all sides.

"AH! No!" he shouted as he blew up again.

The Rangers let out a relieved sigh, then quickly got back down to the ground. The de-morphed and ran to their leader. "Leo!" Chris yelled. They kneeled around her as Leo cringed and seized in pain. she pried her eyes open.

"D-did we win?" she asked in a strained voice.

"Fuck yeah we did," Austin said. giving one of her hands a gentle squeeze.

Leo smiled. "the st-storm has p-passed." Her eyes rolled back in her head and it dropped into Chris' lap.

"Let's get her back," Jasper said. He and Andy carefully Lifted Leo up, sharing her weight between the two of them.

-Thunder Strike-

An hour later all four of the rangers were sitting outside Leo's room. They were silent as they waited to hear about her condition. Austin played idly with the chain hanging off his jeans. Chris was tapping her fingers off her knees. Andy had his head resting in his hands. Jasper was sitting cross-legged, trying to stay calm. After what felt like en eternity, Z emerged and everyone shot to their feet.

"Is she ok?!" Austin asked.

Z nodded solemnly. "She'll live. A few days of bed rest and she'll be back in action in no time." They all let out a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed. "She's awake. You guys can see her, but not for long, understand? She needs to rest."

They all nodded and filed into her room. Leo was laying in her bed, looking far more pale and fragile than they preferred. she smiled at them. "Hey guys," she said.

"How do you feel?" Jasper asked. Chris sat on the edge of her bed, Jasper and Andy sat on the ground, and Austin sat on the footboard.

"I've been better."

"Leo what were you thinking?" Austin demanded. "Why the hell did you go near the gold ranger without a weapon?"

Leo frowned. "I had to try. I had to try and reason with her."

"Very obviously didn't work."

"I can't believe she just shot you like that," Andy said. "You weren't even armed."

"She's a menace," Jasper said.

"Dangerous."

"Insane," Austin added.

"She has to be stopped," Chris concluded. "Before someone dies."

Leo nodded. "I hate to say it...but you guys are right. This week it's me. Next week it could be a civilian. She has to be stopped." She saw the conviction in their eyes and knew they were in agreement. "The Gold Ranger is going down."

-Thunder Strike-

Quinn paced, biting her nails. She knew she should probably be upstairs with the others but...but what if she was right? Her computer beeped and she took a deep breath. She opened the video file she'd downloaded and opened it. She fast forwarded to the time she needed. She watched for a few minutes before horror filled her. She watched those few seconds again, heart racing. she shook her head. "No," she whispered. "No." She watched again, but there was no doubt. None what so ever. She backed up like the computer was possessed. Her hand grabbed her wrist. "No." She tripped and fell into one of her work table, knocking her projects on it onto the ground. "It's me. I'm the gold ranger."

-Thunder Strike-

Next Time On Power Rangers Thunder Strike: The rangers try to figure out why Quinn is shutting them out, as Quinn tries to deal with the gold ranger powers by herself.


	59. Episode 20: Shut Out Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XX: Shut Out

Chapter One: Locked Out With No Explanation

A/N: Hey guys! Just a heads up, this episode won't have a lot of fight scenes because the one at the end is so important and the chapters in this episode won;t be super long. But I'm hoping the content will make up for it. So let's get to it! Read on and enjoy!

"Until we have seen someone's darkness we don't really know who they are. Until we have forgiven someone's darkness, we don't really know what love is." - Marianne Williamson

Knock knock knock! Chris sighed and knocked on the basement door again. "Quinn! Quinn open up!"

"What's going on?" Jasper asked. He stood next to her and put in the code to unlock the door. The lock beeped and flashed red. "Huh? That's...weird..."

"I know."

"Maybe it's broken." He pushed the communication button on his morpher. "Quinn. Quinn, I think the lock on the door is broken." He waited for a response, something along the lines of nothing she makes breaking, but got none. "Quinn?"

"Come on Quinn! Open the door!"

"Are we sure she's not upstairs?"

"I just came from Leo's room. She says Quinn hasn't come to see her at all."

"What- really?" Jasper knocked louder. "Quinn!"

"Quinn!"

"What the fuck are you shouting about?!" Austin demanded as he came out of the dojo with Andy.

"Because you never shout," Andy muttered.

"Quinn won't open the basement door," Chris explained.

"Just put in the fucking code," Austin told her. Jasper grabbed Chris' arm just as Andy grabbed Austin's.

"Gee, I would've never thought of that Dipshit."

"The fuck did you call me you b-"

"Ok!" Andy said. "Let's all calm down."

"And we don't care who started it!" Jasper added. The blue and green rangers relaxed, but not before giving each other dirty looks. "Look at us, handling these two feral cats without Leo's help."

"She'd be so proud," Andy mused, releasing Austin. He went over to the lock and put in the code. "Don't buzz at me!"

"Anyone know where Z is?" Jasper asked.

"Checking on Leo," Chris answered. "She's dying to get out of bed and get back to work."

"It's only been two days, she does know she doesn't have Deadpool style healing powers, right?" Andy asked.

"If Leo actually knew who Deadpool was, I'd die of shock," Austin muttered, studying the basement door. "Maybe we kick it in."

"Yeah and then go tumbling down the stairs." He pat Austin on the back. "So you first."

"No one is breaking anything down," Jasper told them. "Austin, go get Z. We'll wait here. Maybe she'll open it."

"On it," Austin said. He went upstairs and found Z in Leo's room. He waited uncharacteristically patiently as Z finished redressing Leo's burns.

"They're healing well," he told her.

"So I can get back to my ranger duties-" Leo began hopefully.

"In a week."

"A week?!"

"Yes, one week. I'm sure you can figure out plenty to keep you busy." Leo groaned. "Don't be like that, or I'll caffeinate Quinn and send her up here."

Leo rolled her eyes. "If Quinn would ever come see me that'd be great."

"She hasn't yet?"

"No."

"Why?"

"That's what I was hoping you could answer for us," Austin said, pushing himself away from the wall. "We can't get into the basement. The code isn't working and Quinn isn't talking to us."

Confusion and worry coursed through Z. Austin could see it written on his face. "That's not like her. Not like her at all."

"Is she ok?" Leo asked, pushing her blanket off.

"Stay," Austin said, pointing his finger at her.

"I'll go talk to her," Z told them. "Leo you stay."

"But I want to help!" the red ranger protested. Austin grinned and pushed her down gently.

"Leo you're still hurt," he said, pulling the blanket over her. "Let us handle this."

"But Quinn and I-"

"Yes, and you two are adorable together." He put his hand on her shoulder. "But she'd want you to take care of yourself. So sit back and relax."

"Ugh...fine. Can you hand me my notebook please?"

Austin grabbed the notebook and flipped through it. "What the he...heck kind of notebook is this?" There were no lines, just...music..lines.

"It's my music notebook. It's where I keep my songs."

"Ok." He handed it to her, along with a pencil. "Just remember, if you need anything, use your morpher to ask one of us."

"I will."

Austin left, going back downstairs to rejoin his friends. He found everyone gathered by the basement door. "Still no luck?"

Andy shook his head. "This fortress of solitude is locked up tight."

"Nerd."

"Boys knock it off," Z told them. He banged on the door again. "Quinn! Quinn open this door right now!" He waited, but no answer came. "Guys why don;t you go to the dojo?"

"But-" Chris began.

"Go."

She sighed. "Come on guys. Training in five."

"What could be going on with Quinn?" Andy asked Austin as the four of them headed for the dojo.

"No fucking clue. But Z looks worried."

As soon as he heard their footsteps disappear, Z knocked again. "Quinn," he said gently, still trying to be loud enough for her to hear. "Quinn pease let me in. Quinn." He waited a couple of minutes, but still got no reply. He sighed and walked away. _What's going on with her?_

\- Thunder Strike -

Downstairs, Quinn lifted her head from her legs. She was sitting on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest. She listened to them knocking. She could hear them calling her name, but she didn't get up. She ignored them; blocking the sounds from her mind. _Don't let them in,_ she repeated silently. _Don't let them in. _She hadn't left her workspace since her discovery. She couldn't be near the others. Not until she figured out a way to get rid of the gold ranger powers once and for all. She stood up and threw herself down into her computer chair. She put her elbows up on the desk and rested her head in her hands. She had no clue. Absolutely no clue. She didn't have any information on these powers, how they worked, or their source. She didn't even know what manifested the powers.

"It's like I'm possessed," she muttered. "Argh! Think brain! Think!"

Her communicator buzzed.

"Quinn?" Leo asked hesitantly. "Quinn, are you there?" Quinn clasped her hands together like she was praying. It would be so much easier to ignore Leo if her stomach would stop doing that flippy thing ti did at the sound of her voice. "Is everything ok? Austin said you've been ignoring the team." She paused, no doubt waiting for a response. "Quinn if something is wrong you can tell me." The sound of her sigh made Quinn feel even more guilty. "Maybe this will make you feel better." Quinn glanced sideways at the communicator. The sound of a guitar came through and she couldn't stop the smile that graced her lips.

"Would you dance if I asked you to dance?

Would you run and never look back?

Would you cry if you saw me crying?

Would you save my soul tonight?

"I can be your hero, baby.

I can kiss away the pain.

I will stand by you forever.

You can take my breath away.

"Would you swear that you'll always be mine?

Would you lie? Would you run and hide?

Am I in too deep? Have I lost my mind?

I don't care. You're here tonight.

"I can be your hero, baby.

I can kiss away the pain.

I will stand by you forever.

You can take my breath away.

"I can be your hero."

Quinn wiped at her eyes. Leave it to Leo to break down most of the resolve that had taken a day and a half to build up. She'd never liked being alone. Never liked the feeling of a single body taking up an empty room. With Leo though, her presence alone could fill the biggest room. Every corner and every crevice. Quinn's guilt over not visit the red ranger in her room build up in her stomach. She shook her head stubbornly. _No! I have to keep my distance! I have no __control over these powers! I...I could hurt someone. _She curled up into a ball in her chair. He heart was breaking over having to ignore her friends and uncle. She didn't want to be alone forever. She wanted to sit an Leo's room and play piano. Discuss books with Andy. Listen to Austin's many stories about his many schools. Spar and talk technique with Jasper. Make up silly dances with Chris. She wanted her friends. She wanted to be with them doing things that made her feel like she was normal. Not just Tommy's secret daughter. _I'm doing great in that department, _she remarked bitterly _The apple never fall far from the tree._

She took a deep breath and sat up straight. "No," she whispered. "I'm not going to sit by. I hurt my friends. I won't become my father." She stood up and went over to one of her work tables. _I have to get rid of these powers, _she thought to herself. _If I ever want to go near her again, I need to get rid of this curse!_


	60. Episode 20: Shut Out Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XX: Shut Out

Chapter Two: Dilemmas

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this cchapter took so long. I've been really busy with college. I'll try to do better though, I promise.

"Until we have seen someone's darkness we don't really know who they are. Until we have forgiven someone's darkness, we don't really know what love is." - Marianne Williamson

Austin winced when he once again hit the mats. Andy stood over him with a slightly amused look on his face. "The score's what...me 6, you 1?"

"Three," Austin corrected, pushing Andy's outstretched hand away. His knees protested as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Tripping over your own feet and falling into me doesn't count as taking me down."

The green ranger stuck his tongue out. He took a ready stance. "Let's go, nerd." Andy smiled but didn't even bother with a stance. He just attacked Austin, taking a swing at his head. Austin ducked under it and kicked the white ranger in the back. Andy fell forward but pushed himself forward; using the momentum to come back around and kicked at Austin's head. He landed one his feet, but Austin was faster and swept his legs out from under him. He landed on his butt with a thump! He made a face as he looked up at the green ranger. "That's what? 6 to 4?" Andy stuck his tongue out as he was pulled to his feet. They looked over at Jasper and Chris, who appeared to be trying to kill each other.

Jasper tried to punch her, only for Chris to cartwheel out of the way. She tried to kick him in the head, but Jasper grabbed her ankle. He tried t throw her off balance, but she simply jumped up and kicked him in the stomach. The black ranger released her and stumbled backward. Chris tried to rush him, but he tangled his feet in hers and tripped her to the ground. She landed on her stomach and kicked out at him.

"Are one of you secretly a Darkling who was sent here to kill all of us?" Andy asked skeptically.

"Please let it be Princess," Austin prayed, "Please let it be Princess."

"Haha, very funny," Jasper responded. He and Chris got to their feet. "We all need to keep training seriously. That's why the gold ranger keeps whooping us."

"No that's because she's a demon who dreams about skinning us alive and wearing our skin like a suit," Austin replied.

Chris made a face. "Pleasant. Jasper's right, though. We need to work harder. Leo's down for another few weeks-"

"Are you new here?"

"She's right," Jasper said, heading off an argument he knew was coming. "Leo is still down for at least a little while and we need to pick up the slack. She was one of our strongest-"

"Was? Don't talk about her like she's been offed or something!"

"Austin chill!" Andy hissed. "What's your problem today?"

"Besides his usual?" Chris asked. Andy pulled Austin back as he tried to attack her.

"Andy's right, what's up with you?" Jasper asked. "You've been extra cranky today."

"Why shouldn't I be?!" Austin snapped. "Leo is hurt, Quinn is ignoring us, and that gold menace is still out there!"

Andy put his hand on the green ranger's shoulder. "This is hard on all of us dude. None of us like seeing Leo hurt."

"Quinn ignoring us isn't exactly something that makes us jump for joy," Jasper pointed out. "We need to stay strong, ok? The demons want us to give up. If anything we need to pull through just out of spite."

Austin nodded. "I can do spite."

"Good. Now, there's not a lot we can do for Leo at the moment unless someone here has super healing."

"Super healing..." Andy murmured.

"Stay focused Hemmingway. There is something we can do about Quinn though."

"What's that?" Chris asked.

"Well if we just remind her that we're her friends and we're here for her, then maybe she'll let us in on whatever's going on."

"How about we just teleport down there?" Austin asked. "We have morphers."

"You know what's really sad, is that he's the one who came up with that," Chris said. The four of them pressed the teleportation buttons on their morphers, but nothing happened.

Andy sighed. "Well, there goes that idea."

"Back to the talk plan then." Chris pushed the communication button on her morpher. "Quinn? Hey, Quinn. Whatever's going on, you know you can tell us right?"

"Yeah we won't judge you or anything," Andy said, taking into his own morpher.

"Not that we have any grounds to judge people anyway," Austin added.

"We're your friends Quinn," Jasper told her. "I know you're still new to this whole friends thing, but believe me, friends always stand by you. When you need them, they're there for you no matter what." They all waited for a response but got none.

"It was worth a try," Andy said dejectedly.

"We tried," Chris told him.

"We have to keep trying," Austin said. "This is...really, really weird for Quinn. She's the most social out of all of us. Which is kind of ironic when you think about it."

"He's right, though," Jasper agreed.

"Even stopped clocks are right twice a day," Chris muttered under her breath.

"Chris. He is right. This is the opposite of normal behavior for her. Something's going on here. Something bad. Something...I don't know...really bad."

"You really have a way with words," Andy smiled.

"You guys know what I mean."

"We do. So what next?"

"We could try to break the basement door down?" Austin suggested.

"Yes, but Z has a problem with us breaking the house," Chirs pointed out.

"True."

"We could try Leo?"

Jasper shook his head. "She's too weak to get out of bed."

"Says who?" Leo asked from the doorway. She was in her nightgown, using the door frame as a crutch to keep herself up.

"Leo!" Austin and Jasper rushed over to help her. They carefully took her arms and tried to take most of her weight. "What're you doing here?"

"You should be in bed," Chris told her, helping her sit down. She made the red ranger rest against the wall.

"How did you make it down the stairs?" Andy asked.

Leo smiled, somehow making herself look even more tired. "The same way anyone makes it down the stairs. Just a lot slower and by using the railing more."

"Leo," Jasper sighed, sitting beside her. Everyone sat in a semi-circle around her. "You have to take it easy."

"But you guys need me."

"We're getting by," Chris assured her. "The best thing you can do for us is to get better and take care of yourself."

Leo sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"Tell you what you can do for us," Andy said, "you can help us figure out what's going on with Quinn."

"I tried. I played her a song through our private comm channel."

"You guys have a private comm channel?" Andy asked.

"Do you really want to hear what those two get up to in private?" Austin whispered.

"Truth."

"There has to be something we can do," Jasper said, looking at her earnestly.

Leo bit her lip, thinking. "Try Z?"

"I don't think he made it very far," Austin muttered.

"Can anyone phase through walls?"

"Phasing through walls..."

"Focus," Austin reminded him.

"I don't know!" Leo said, throwing her arms in the air, making her flinch and pull them in.

"Well if she doesn't know then the rest of us are screwed," Austin said.

"We'll think of something."

\- Thunder Strike -

Quinn sighed in frustration and threw the gadget she was working on across the room. "This isn't working!" She got up and started pacing back and forth. "What am I missing?" she muttered. "What am I missing?!" She slammed her hands on her work table. "Ugh!" There was no way for her to try and figure out these powers if she didn't figure out where they were coming from. She hung her head as she tried to think. "Think, Oliver, think." Her head snapped up hen she heard knocking again.

Quinn!" Z called. "Quinn just give me a sign you're still alive down there! I really don't want your dad to hurt me! Please! Quinn! Just give a sign! A hint! Anything!"

Quinn sighed and put her head back down. If she just kept ignoring them they'd go away. They'd leave her alone and she could get back to figuring out how to solve this. _I got myslef inot this mess I can get myself out of it._ A thought occured toher and her head snapped up. "Power particles. If-if these powers are connected to the Power somehow, then I can use a Power tracker to try and trace its source!" She smiled as she got to work. "I can rework something I have down here!" She started gathering some gadgets and odd ends. _I can do this. I can do this. _

\- Thunder Strike -

Emperor Stormicon smiled as Chaotic energy filled him. "It's multiplying," he told his underlings.

"The rangers haven't been out there doing good," Tornidon said happily.

"It's not like we've been sending down Darklings there," Hurricous pointed out.

Blizzitor scoffed. "Why should we? Sun Storm did a number on the Red Ranger in their last encounter. The chaotic energy is multiplying in on itself."

"Not good enough!" Stormicon snapped. "I want those Rangers gone! They're the only thing standing in the way of me and the destruction of this dimension!"

"You're right my Emperor. What do you suggest we do?"

"Shall we send him down some Darklings and maybe a demon or two?" Hurricous suggested.

"No!" Stormicon shouted. "Those demons aren't strong enough to take them on." He stared into his spear and held his hand over. "Sun Storm, come. Come out and destroy the Rangers." He smiled at his underlings. "She will destroy them. Then we'll be able to take down this dimension!"

\- Thunder Strike -

Quinn froze when something started glowing on her wrist. She stared at it in confusion. "What-" A strap appeared around her wrist, attaching a rock on a metal plate to her. She jumped to her feet and stumbled back. Her chair fell on the ground, but she ignored it. "What's happening?" Unknown to her, the irises in her eyes turned gold. She disappeared in a flash of golden light.


	61. Episode 20: Shut Out Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XX: Shut Out

Chapter Three: The Golden Reveal

A/N: Hello wonderful readers. I swear I'm going to try and be better about updating this. For now, just...enjoy this chapter.

"Until we have seen someone's darkness we don't really know who they are. Until we have forgiven someone's darkness, we don't really know what love is." - Marianne Williamson

The alarms started blaring, causing all the rangers to jump to their feet. Including Leo, who yelped in pain. "The alarms-" she said breathlessly.

"One problem," Chirs said, letting Leo lean on her slightly.

"Only one?" Austin asked.

"Austin," Leo warned him, pushing herself away from Chris.

"If we can't get downstairs we can't get to the storm chasers, how are we supposed to get to the battle?"

"Our morphers can take us down there. We'll just go down to the last place there was a battle and look for signs of a fight."

"Ok.'

"Let's do this!" Jasper nodded. The five of them teleported from the house down to the city. They landed at the sight of the last battle and spread out a little bit. They listened for screams, but there weren't any.

"Anyone hear anything?" Austin asked.

"No," Leo answered quietly as they slowly formed a circle. She saw something flash out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed the shirts of the two people closest to her, Chris and Austin, and pulled them down yelling, "Duck!" The three of them hit the ground while Jasper pulled Andy down. Several bright blaster shots soared over their heads. They looked up. Sun Storm was standing not ten feet away, blaster trained directly on them.

"Rangers!" Sun Storm yelled, walking closer. "Today your resistance against the Emperor ends!"

"You wish!" Austin snapped back as they stood up.

"Let's do this!" Leo told them. They raised their morpher hands.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

"Red rain ranger!"

"Blue wind ranger!"

"Green lightning ranger!"

"White snow ranger!"

"Black cloud ranger!"

"Clear skies are straight ahead!"

Sun Storm put away one of her blasters and raised one of her hands. "Darklings, descend!" Darklings were deposited from funnel clouds and surrounded her. "Get them."

"You guys take care of the Darklings," Leo said. "I'll keep the gold ranger distracted."

"Uh...Leo..." Austin began, not liking that plan due to what had happened last time.

"Do it! The sooner you guys get rid of them the sooner we can get rid of her!"

"Right!" the other four chorused.

Leo ran forward, dodging the incoming swarm of Darklings. She shot a couple of them that got in her way, but the other rangers started firing too, drawing the attention of the demons. She ran right at Sun Storm, who shot at her. She dodged the blaster fire and returned it. She took her weapons tag and inserted it into her blaster. "Rain stick!" She swung the stick at Sun Storm, who dodged it with ease. Leo stabbed it towards her, hitting Sun Storm in the stomach. The gold ranger shot at her again, but Leo blocked the blasts with her weapon. She broke it in half over her knee and attacked again. She swung the left stick at Sun Storm's head, which she dodged, but then sliced her arm. Sun Storm pulled out her other blaster and used them to block the blows coming from the red ranger. She fired off a few blasts in the closer range, but Leo blocked them with her rain sticks.

The two of them traded blows for a few minutes, in which they both landed hits on the other. As they fought though, something bothered Leo. She couldn't quite out her finger on it, but there was something familiar about the way Sun Storm was fighting. Like she'd seen it somewhere before. She didn't have time to dwell on it though because Sun Storm didn't let up on her attacks. She kicked Leo to the ground and shot at her legs. Leo rolled away, fusing her two sticks back into one. Sun Storm was ready to fire again, but Chris suddenly jumped over Leo, landing in front of her. She blocked the blaster shots with her fans, wincing at the power that pushed against her wrists.

"You ok?" Chris asked Leo as she threw her fans at the gold ranger. Sun Storm managed to dodge the, but when Chris held out her hands and they came back they both hit her from behind.

"Fine," Leo ground out, pushing herself up. Sun Storm aimed another blaster and the red and blue rangers, but a hammer flew past them and hit the gold ranger in the chest. She was knocked to the ground as Austin joined the two girls and caught his weapon.

"Ha!" he laughed. "I got her!" Sun Storm got up and pressed her blasters together. "Yeah you got here alright," Chris muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah you got here alright," Chris muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Down!" Leo ordered, pulling the two of them to the ground. The golden frisbee missed them, but almost hit Andy, who saw it just in time. He crossed his ice scrapers in an X to block it. The frisbee pushed against his block, stringing him to keep his footing. He grunted as he pushed the weapon away and knocked it back.

"Good catch!" Jasper yelled, taking down the last two Darklings. The two of them joined the other three as they stood up. The five of them stood together, ready to take the gold ranger down.

"Surround her," Leo told them quietly. "Attack her from every angle possible." The others nodded and they separated. Leo attacked the gold ranger head on, breaking her rain stick again and throwing them. Chris and Jasper went to the left, the blue ranger running ahead to try and get behind Sun Storm. Andy copied her as he and Austin went to the right. Sun Storm tried to focus on them, but Leo kept drawing her attention back towards herself. She engaged in close combat, swinging her rain sticks at the gold ranger, who could only block wth her sun disc. She jumped back as Chris and Andy jumped in and hit the gold ranger from behind. She couldn't dodge both hits, so Chris' wind fans scraped down her front. She spun around with amazing speed and hit the two rangers with her sun disc. They stumbled back and she was instantly attacked by Austin and Jasper. She ducked under the green ranger's hammers, but Austin hit her with his maces. The rangers closed in on her and she spun in a rapid circle, hitting them all with her sun disc. The rangers were knocked back several feet.

"Keep going!" Leo encouraged them. They got back to their feet and all threw their weapons at the same time. Sun Storm managed to dodge a few, but most them hit her. Even more hit her when they were summoned back to the rangers who hit them. She stumbled but stayed standing. "Super Storm!"

The other rangers nodded and took off their super storm tags. "Super storm, upgrade!" they yelled.

"The raging downpour, super storm red!"

"The howling wind, super storm blue!"

"The erratic lightning, super storm green!"

"The freezing snow, super storm white!"

"The rumbling clouds, super storm black!"

Sun Storm threw her sun disc at them again, but the rangers all dodged it with better ease. Leo could feel her aches and pains disappearing as the Power coursed through her body stronger than before. "More power won't help you!" the gold ranger snapped, clearly frustrated that it was hard to destroy her good counterparts.

"Oh, you wanna see more power?!" Austin demanded.

"Rain storm crossbow!"

"Wind storm claw!"

"Lightning storm axe!"

"Ice storm striker!"

"Cloud storm defender!"

Andy didn't waste any time flicking his whip out at the gold ranger while Leo fired her crossbow. The gold ranger dodged the whip, but it drew her attention away from the crossbow shots. They hit her in the back and spun around, hitting Leo with her sun disc. Chris took advantage of the momentarily disarmed gold ranger to rush her. She jumped up and came down raking her wind storm claw down the gold ranger's back. Sun Storm spun around, only to get hit on the front again. Austin attacked next, hitting the gold ranger with his axe. She fell to the ground, only to summersault back to her feet.

"Heat wave!" Sun Storm shouted, throwing her sun disc again. The rangers all dropped to the ground to avoid the bright light and heat that came from the weapon. Leo motioned for the others and they all quickly rejoined her.

"We have to finish this!" Leo hissed.

"Heat wave!"

Jasper jumped in front of the others and blocked the frisbee with his cloud storm defender. He winced as his shield hit his body from the force of the attack. "I agree," he grunted.

"Combine the weapons!" Leo ordered. The rangers put their weapons together and lined up with Chris and Austin's hands on Leo's shoulders, Jasper's hand on Chris' shoulder and Andy's hand on Austin's shoulder.

"Thunder Strom Striker!" they yelled. "Ready! Fire!"

Sun Storm seemed to realize that she couldn't dodge the attack. she raised her hand in front of her chest in defense. The blast hit her straight in the chest, shattering the gem on her wrist. The rangers looked away for a moment until the light died down. Leo opened her eyes and saw the gold ranger laying prone on the ground. The rangers morphed back down to their regular modes. Leo kept her blaster trained on the gold ranger as she moved closer. The gold ranger was gasping, but didn't seem to be able to get up. Leo holstered her weapon and knelt down next to their fallen enemy. She reached out and gently pulled off the gold ranger's helmet, causing her to de-morph. Her heart stopped and the helmet slipped from her fingers.

"Quinn?!" she gasped, recognizing the face underneath. Hearing her outburst, the others sprinted forward and gathered behind her.

Andy gasped. "What?!"

"What?!" Chris squeaked.

"What the fuck?!" Austin demanded.

"Oh my god!" Jasper stammered.

"You're the gold ranger?!" Leo demanded. Quinn's normally brown eyes were bright gold. The gold suddenly broke down, making her eyes brown once more.

"L-Leo..." Quinn gasped like she'd just realized the red ranger was there. She reached out blindly and Leo intertwined their fingers.

"Quinn...how..." Chris asked, kneeling on her other side.

"I-I didn't mean to...I just..."

"Why didn't you tell us?!" Andy asked desperately, falling to his knees next to Chris.

"I thought I could handle it on my own..."

"You should've told us!" Austin snapped. He knelt down next to Andy and Jasper joined him. "We just...you should've told us!"

"I'm sorry..." Quinn looked at Leo and reached out and weakly grabbed the red ranger's helmet. She pulled it off and let it fall to the side. She smiled. "I just wanted to see your face again..."

"Quinn..." Leo whispered, holding her girlfriend's hand close to her chest. "I'm so sorry."

"No, it's my fault. I thought I could get rid of these powers alone, but I was wrong."

Leo started to cry. "Quinn..."

"It's ok Leo. It'll be ok."

Leo didn't know what to do. So she did the only thing she could think to do. "You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take...my sunshine...away..." She finished the song just as Quinn's eyes closed and her hand went limp in Leo's grip. "Quinn!"

Chris quickly took off her helmet and put her ear to their friend's chest. After a minute she moved her head so that her face was buried in Quinn's clothes. She took a deep breath and picked her head up. Jasper and Andy took off their helmets as well. The black ranger held his like it was a lifeline. "Is she..." he began, only to stop when Chris shook her head. Austin took off his helmet so he could check for himself. The silence he found cut him.

"No," Austin whispered. "No!" He fell back, tripping over his helmet. He pressed his face into the ground. "No!"

Jasper dropped his helmet and put his head in his hands. "Oh my god what have we done?!" he asked in a high voice. His voice wavered. "What did we do?!"

Andy shook his head and hugged Chris, who cried into his shoulder. Neither of them could say anything.

Leo felt like she was drowning. She couldn't breathe and her eyes were filled with water. She had to be drowning, right? Her tears fell on Quinn's still face, making small tracks through the dirt that had settled there. She ran her hand through Quinn's black hair. She moved her other hand from Quinn's fingers to her wrist, wrapping around it. She closed her eyes for a moment and rested her forehead against Quinn's. She sobbed in pain. Something poked her hand and she looked at it. Resting on the metal plate that was strapped to Quinn's wrist was a small piece of the golden gem. Leo blinked and frowned. Still unable to find her voice, she watched as it started glowing. She moved her hand back in shock. The glow spread out, like the gem was melting, until it filled the circular, metal plate. This caught the attention of Andy, who tapped Chris rapidly on the back. Chris turned her head and froze.

Austin looked up and could only stare. Jasper stared as well, not even breathing. They all watched as the golden glow got brighter. Leo moved back an inch when the glow suddenly appeared beneath Quinn's skin. The glow moved through Quinn's veins until it had rapidly filled her body. It snaked its way up her neck and to her face. The glow on her wrist got so bright the rangers had to look away. Through her eyelids, once Leo realized the glow had died down she looked back. Gone were the metal plate and gem. In their place, now strapped to Quinn's wrist, was a yellow sun. The glow in her veins was gone. No one moved or said anything. Then Quinn took a breath. Everyone jumped and scrambled forward.

"Quinn?!" Leo said, putting her hand on Quinn's face. "Quinn, can you hear me?"

Quinn moaned lowly and her eyes fluttered open. Her brown eyes were now lightly flaked with gold. "Leo...?"

"Quinn!" Leo wrapped her arms around Quinn, pulling her close.

"You're alive!" Chris gasped.

"How the fuck-" Austin asked, too stunned to say anything.

Leo kissed Quinn passionately. "Don't ever do that again!" she yelled, crying again.

"I won't," Quinn assured her, pressing her face into Leo's shoulder. "I won't I promise." The other rangers soon joined their hug, pressing in around her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't you dare fucking leave us again," Austin mumbled. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I won't." Quinn took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."

\- Thunder Strike -

Next Time on Power Rangers Thunder Strike: A famous dancer comes to Cliffton, so Chris sneaks out of the house to go and meet her; meanwhile Quinn tries to convince Z to let her join the team and Leo deals with the aftermath of Quinn's brief death.


	62. Episode 21: Star Struck Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XXI: Star Struck

Chapter One: So Many Problems

A/N: So I finally got this done. Sorry about the wait. I've got another fanfic that keeps monopolizing my time and college so yeah... Has everyone seen the Power Rangers movie? If so, no spoilers please, I haven't seen it yet. Let me know if you liked it though. And if you like Ninja Steel. I think it's great. Enjoy the chapter!

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." -Muhammad Ali

The Cliffton Manor was normally silent. The only time it was ever silent was at night when everyone was asleep. The only sound at this time was Leo muttering in her sleep. The red ranger tossed and turned, muttering quickly under her breath.

"Quinn...Quinn...Quinn no!" She shot up in bed, gasping. Her hand hit the watch face of her morpher. It lit up, casting the room in the odd red glow of the hologram. Her breath was gasping in her lungs and she wrapped her arms around her legs. "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not kill..."

\- Thunder Strike -

Chris flipped through the newspaper, scanning quickly through the stories. A headline suddenly caught her eye and she broke out into a grin. "Oh my god!"

"Oh my god!" Austin mocked in a high-pitched voice from behind her. Chris jumped and quickly closed the paper. "What was that about?"

"None of your business Pot Head."

Austin rolled his eyes. "Whatever Princess."

The blue ranger ignored him as he left. She couldn't stop grinning as she read the article. _Holy shit I can't believe it! Misty Copeland! Here in Cliffton! _She thought she might faint from excitement. _I have to meet her! When will I get another opportunity like this?! I have to- _Her thoughts stopped her in her tracks. She couldn't go. They weren't supposed to leave the house unless it was for ranger duties. "When will I get another opportunity like this, though?"

"Opportunity for what?"

Chris jumped again. "Are you creeping around here?"

Austin shrugged. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. What opportunity are you getting?"

"None of your business."

"Oh?" Austin darted forward and snatched the paper out of her hands, tearing part of it as Chris tried to stop him.

"Give that back!"

Austin laughed as he jumped up on the couch to stand out of her reach. "What're you hiding?"

"Nothing, I just don't particularly enjoy your presence." Chris lurched at him, but Austin jumped over the back of the couch to avoid her. "Austin!"

The green ranger looked at the paper. "Misty Copeland? Is that what you were looking at? Her visit to Cliffton?"

"How do you know who she is?"

"Did you forget where I come from?" Austin asked as Chris took the newspaper from him. "My mother dragged me and my brother to more boring ballets and operas than I could count."

"You've seen her perform?"

"Yeah sure. In New York and everything."

"You've been to the New York City ballet?"

"Yeah." Austin studied her. "Why?" Chirs looked away and a cruel smile spread across his lips. "You've never been?"

"...No."

"You? Miss I-Have-To-Practice-Ballet-10-Times-A-Day? You've never seen the New York City ballet?"

"You know not all of us are rich like you." Chris crossed her arms. "It's not like I haven't wanted to see it. It's just...never been plausible financially."

"And now you see your chance not just to see her perform, but to meet her as well."

"Except I can't so..."

"So let's go then."

"Are you deaf? I just said-"

"You said that you can't. In my experience, that's just another way of saying you won't."

"We have duties here Crack Head."

"Gee, thanks, Princess. I might've missed it otherwise. We can just sneak out."

"Sneak out? Have you seen the security here?"

"We can teleport down to the city."

"We?"

"Sure, unless you have the money to buy a ticket."

Chris narrowed her eyes. "You want to help me?"

"Yeah."

"Why?'

Austin shrugged. "Maybe I'm in a generous mood. Maybe the near death of one of my close friends has changed my perspective on life." He leaned back against the wall. "Or maybe I'm bored and I'll take any opportunity to escape this prison, including spending time with you."

"You're on fo a kind, you know that?"

"Tick-tock Princess. What'll it be?"

Chris glanced away. They could sneak out. It would only be too easy. _We'd get in trouble, though..._ She glanced at the paper again. _Just one day... All I want is one day to meet her..._ She sighed. "Fine. Let's do it."

"Really?"

"Yes, let's sneak out."

"Didn't think you had it in you." Austin stood up straight. "Meet me on the fourth floor, fifth door on the right, in 15 minutes."

"Ok." Austin left to do...God only knew what, leaving Chris alone. "I'm probably going to regret this." She nodded to herself. "Yes, I'm definitely going to regret this."

\- Thunder Strike -

Quinn held her breath as Z gave the sun-shaped object another look. "Well?"

"Just because it doesn't look dangerous doesn't mean it's not," Z muttered.

"Z, it's not dangerous!"

"Quinn these powers possessed you for weeks!"

"The chaotic energy that did that is gone now!"

"Quinn-"

"Z, I have the Power now. I have a morpher!"

"Just because you have one doesn't mean you should use it. I still don't like the idea of you using this power."

"It's perfectly safe."

"It's only been 3 days."

"Z it's safe, I know it is."

"How do you know that?"

"I can just..." Quinn was at a loss for words. "I just do. I can feel the Power inside of it and I just know."

"Quinn, this power-"

"Not just any power Z. The Power." She looked at the object in his hand. "It chose me. The same way it chose Leo, Chris, Jasper, Dad, everyone else. Every ranger in history."

"You weren't chosen, Quinn. Stormicon created the stone to control you."

"Z-"

"I'm your uncle, I get the final say in this. I'm sorry, Quinn, but I have to take this."

"Z!"

"I made your father a promise Quinn. I told him I'd keep you safe, letting you be a ranger isn't exactly in line with that."

"If Dad really cared so much he wouldn't keep me locked up here."

"Don't say that."

"Well, it's true!" Quinn snapped. "Maybe instead of hiding me away like some kind of dirty secret, he could actually tell me he's worried about me."

"Your father loves you, Quinn, you know that."

"He's got a real funny way of showing it." Quinn brushed past her uncle and stomped upstairs. Z heard the basement door slam and took a very deep, long breath. He took his phone out and called the only number in it.

"Hi Tommy," he said once the voicemail beeped. "It's me. Again. Look you really...you need to talk to Quinn. You're her father and she...a lot's been happening here. She misses you. She just needs to hear from you. So whatever you're doing I doubt it's more important than your daughter. So call me back." He hung up and pressed the phone against his forehead. "Not that I could do anything about it if you didn't."

\- Thunder Strike -

Upstairs, Quinn didn't really have to think as she walked through the hall. She automatically made a beeline for Leo's room; barely taking the time to knock as she walked in. Leo was playing her keyboard when Quinn walked in. Quinn sat down next to her on the bench, Leo automatically scooting over and adjusting her arms to account for the person next to her. They sat in silence as her fingers flew across the keys with ease; gracefully playing out the song. She finally finished and sat back, letting the final note reverberate in the room for a moment. They sat in absolute silence for a minute before Quinn said, "That was beautiful."

"Thanks," Leo replied, not looking at her. She let her fingers rest idly on the keys.

"What song was it?"

"Moonlight Sonata."

"Mozart?"

"Beethoven."

"Ah." Leo didn't say anything. Quinn gave her a weird look. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"You sure? You don't look fine."

"I am." Quinn put her hand on Leo's. The red ranger didn't move it, but she just let it rest there. "I'm fine Quinn."

"I don't believe you."

"I am." Leo stood suddenly. "I'm going to the dojo."

"Want me to join you?"

"I want to practice alone." Leo left the room without another word or even looking at Quinn.

_Ok, that was weird_, she decided. _What's gotten into her?_

\- Thunder Strike -

Chris made her way up to the fourth floor, a place she'd so rarely been, and counted her way down to the fifth door on the left side. It turned out not to be necessary because it was already partially open. She slipped inside and closed it behind her. It was a storage room of some kind. Ther were boxes piled against the walls and various pieces of furniture covered by sheets. Someone had uncovered an old love seat, so old it was ripped in several places and broken so that the seat curved down in a 'V'.

"Like the place?" Austin asked.

"Is this where you hide your stash?"

"I happen to be clean, thank you very much."

"Whatever."

"We doing this or what?"

"Fine, let's do it." Chris stood next to him and they raised their morphers. _I hope I'm not making a big mistake,_ she thought as they teleported out of the house.


	63. Episode 21: Star Struck Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers franchise, but I do own this team and their adventures.

_*Italic indicates thought_

Episode XXI: Star Struck

Chapter Two: Not All There

A/N: Alright here's the next chapter. Hopefully, you guys are still with me. If you are, enjoy.

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." -Muhammad Ali

Chris tried to ignore the bizarreness of the fact that she was walking down the street with Austin. Austin, of all people! She made sure to keep her distance, trying to stay a foot away from him at all times. There was no need for anyone to think they were together. The very thought disgusted her. She glanced over her shoulder again, the sixth time in the last 10 minutes.

"What're you looking at?!" Austin demanded. "You act like we're being stalked."

"Well, we did just sneak out."

"Please, if Z sends the others out after us they wouldn't be hiding in the shadows."

"True. We're going to be in so much trouble when we get back."

"So? What's he going to do? Ground us? Take our "watches" away?"

"You'd be ok with that?"

"You're talking to the guy who spent 18 months in juvenile hall. I think I could handle a stern lecture and being sent to my room."

"You're a delinquent."

"Better than being a goody-two-shoes who never has any fun."

"I have fun."

"Doing what?"

"I dance."

"I mean real fun. Sneaking onto the airport tarmac to lay under the planes as they land. Going to parties. Kissing girls and then not calling them."

"That's not fun."

"Sure it is."

"No, it's not. why do you think that's fun anyways?"

Austin snorted. "Forget it. I should've figured you were a square. Holy Smackdown, I expect. She's got that whole...good Christian girl thing going. Ace has the social skills of a lobster. Computer Q lives her life behind walls-"

"Not everyone is irresponsible like you."

"You sound like my brother. 'Grow up Austin. Respect your elders Austin. Austin, why are you such a disappointment?' If you're not careful you'll find yourself in a soldier's uniform, acting like you run the world."

"Your brother thinks you're a disappointment?"

"He sure as hell does."

"He told you that?"

"He doesn't have to. What do you care? You're not my fucking therapist."

"Fine, forget I asked."

"Gladly." They lapsed back into silence. Chris tried to ignore Austin as they continued to walk. _Stupid Austin_, she thought. _He's so stupid and rash_. Yet here he was, also taking her to the ballet. He was a mystery for the ages.

\- Thunder Strike -

"So that's where you're all hiding?" Torndion asked as he walked into the demon room.

"The Emperor has been looking for someone to destroy ever since we lost control of Sun Storm," Hurricous replied. "I'm not very eager to give him one."

"If you want to die then be our guest," Blizzitor added, not taking his eyes off the wall.

"He has every right to be mad," Tornidon said. "Sun Storm was our best weapon against the rangers, and she's on their side now." The walls of the room suddenly started shaking.

"He's still mad," Hurricous observed.

"Which is why I'm looking for a demon to send down," Blizzitor said, still studying the wall. "If we send down a demon the rangers will be busy, chaotic energy will be created, and hopefully the Emperor will be...slightly appeased."

"Let's do it then! I don't want to get blown to bits!"

"This one," Tornidon said, tapping the cloud wall with his spear. "This will do."

"Hey!" Blizzitor objected. "This was my idea!"

"You should've been quicker then. Who's the military mind amongst us? Me. Who's the scientist? You."

"What does that make me?!" Hurricous demanded.

"Nothing, now shut up." Tornidon pointed his staff at the wall. "Chaotic energy, give this demon life!" He stepped back as the picture was taken off the wall. "Let's hope those rangers are well-rested."

"Let's go see," Blizzitor said, leading the other demons out of the room. They walked up to the courtyard of the castle and he waved his staff at the ground. His eyes swept the Earth below. He smiled. "The green and blue rangers are out in the open."

"Go!" Tornidon ordered the lower demon. "Attack them!"

\- Thunder Strike -

Leo shifted her feet as she punched the air. She punched again. Then again. She followed with two kicks. There was no way to test her strength since she wasn't fighting an actual target. She could've; there were a few dummies with considerable weight, but she didn't want to. Instead, she chose to focus on the forms of her punches and kicks. Taking care to make sure her procession was smooth between them. They were kind of like scales. Moving in repeatable patterns that were simple enough to give her time to focus on form. She kept all her mental energies on what she was doing. Anything to keep her mind off the nightmare. Her breathing picked up a little bit.

_Quinn's brown eyes turning gold. _

_Leo's hand shaking as she raised her blaster._

_Red blood soaking the front of her shirt. _

_Quinn falling into Leo's arms-_

"Leo?" The red ranger spun around. Jasper stood in the doorway looking concerned. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Jasper," she replied.

"You don't like fine. You look tired. Are you sleeping ok?"

"I'm sleeping fine."

"Maybe you should go take a nap." The alarms went off and he sighed. "Rain check on the nap then." The two of them hit the teleportation buttons on their morphers almost simultaneously. As per the usual, Quinn somehow met them down there. She sat down at her computers.

"The attack is on North Street," she said, examining the map.

"That's downtown," Leo said.

"On a Saturday there's bound to be a lot of civilians," Andy said.

"We need to get moving then."

Z frowned, doing a quick head count of the rangers. "Where are Chris and Austin?"

"Making out?" Jasper suggested.

"Stop!" Andy said forcefully, mind flashing back to the dreadful day of...Chaustin. "Please don't even joke about that."

"Chris," Leo said into her morpher as she led the two boys to the storm chasers. "Chris are you there?" There was a grunt in reply.

"Yeah, Leo?"

"Is Austin with you?"

"Yes!" Another grunt of pain; a sound Leo knew all too well.

"Where are you guys?!" Andy demanded, leaning over to talk into Leo's morpher.

"Um..."

"Is that fighting in the background?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, it is," Quinn confirmed, looking at the monitors. "They're already there."

"They went without us?"

"More like the attack came to them."

"So they snuck out?" Z asked.

"Yes, that is what that means."

"We'll deal with this later," Leo said. "We have to get down there." She, Andy, and Jasper got on their storm chasers and teleported down to the city.

\- Thunder Strike -

Chris ducked under the reach of a Darkling and punched it in the face. "We should morph!" she said to Austin.

"Agreed!" They slipped into an alley, unnoticed by the panicked citizens around them.

"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!"

They leaped back fray and started shooting. Chris shot down three Darklings without batting an eye. She turned and shot another one that tried to sneak up behind her. She flipped over the group of Darklings, shooting them as she was overhead. She landed on the ground and shot again. Austin shot the Darklings without a care. He shot two in the head, then another in the chest.

"The others will be here soon!" Chris yelled to him, shooting at a group of three to keep them from attacking a group of 13-year-old girls. She shot another from behind that was going after an old woman. _The Darkling to civilian ratio is too high!_ She shot another four that were attacking a mother with her son. Too late she noticed the group forming just off to her right. _Oh no-_ She was thrown backwards by a large gust of wind; landing hard on a car. The metal crunched beneath her, offering little to no cushioning from her fall.

"Huh?" Austin asked, watching her. "What-" He noticed another group closing in on him. _Shit._ He too was thrown several yards and hit the ground hard. The wind was knocked out of him; causing him to gasp.

"You two don't look so good," a mocking voice said. Austin rolled over onto his chest and Chris carefully picked herself up. A yard away from them was a demon with a tye-dye of purple, green, and yellow skin. His eyes were two neon yellow orbs on his face.

"Great," Austin moaned as he pushed himself to his feet and Chris climbed off of the car. "An acid monster."

"You're about to look a lot worse than us!" Chris told the demon. They shot at him, but the blasts had little effect.

"That tickled!" he laughed.

"Screw these things," Austin said as they pulled off their weapons tags. "Lightning hammers!"

"Wind fans!" Chris threw her fans and followed them at a sprint. Austin followed suit; throwing his own weapons. The demon dodged the weapons with surprising ease. The rangers caught their weapons as they boomeranged back.

"You guys are no fun! I can fix that!" His eyes glowed and Chris couldn't help but stare at them. The colors suddenly all glowed neon and she slammed her eyes shut.

"Ah!" she yelled, falling back and de-morphing. She put her hands over her eyes to block out the lights.

"Princess? Yo, Princess!" Austin yelled. His eyes narrowed. "The hell did you do to her?!"

"Same thing I'm going to do to you!" The demon's eyes glowed again, this time trapping Austin in his gaze. The colors in the green ranger's vision went neon as well and he fell to his knees.

"Gah!" he slammed the heel of his palms into his eyes to try and block out the lights. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't care.

"Austin!" Jasper called. "Austin can you hear me?!"

"What did you do to them?!" Andy demanded, swinging his snow scrapers at the demon. The demon dodged them; jumping left, then right, then back. He threw them, but they missed the demon.

"You need to chill out," the demon said. His eyes glowed and Andy de-morphed, falling to his knees as well.

"Andy!" Leo called. "Jasper, cover them!" She left Chris and ran at the demon. She swung her rain stick at the demon, who side-stepped her. She swung again, moving her weapon from left to right with grace. A slim scratch grazed his chest, but that was all she could get as his eyes started glowing again. She stumbled back and shrieked, "Ah!" She de-morphed and fell on her back as she covered her eyes.

"Four down," the demon mumbled. He turned to Jasper who didn't have time to protect himself before the eyes started glowing again. The colors turned neon and he covered his eyes right after his helmet disappeared. "Five down!"

Chris opened her eyes. The colors had finally returned to normal. She sat up and glared at the demon. "What did you do to us?"

"Oh, you'll find out."

Austin noticed the others were still recovering and crept over to Chris. "Come on," he whispered, grabbing her arm. "Let's go. Now."

"Why?!" Chris demanded as he pulled her away. She glanced back, but the demon was now gone."Where- hey not so hard!"

"Then move it!" He pulled her down a side street, despite her protests.

"Shouldn't we check on the others?"

"We're fine so they're fine."

"Let go!" Chris pulled her arm free and glared at him. "What's your problem?!"

"If we stick around we'll get dragged back."

"You still want to keep going?!"

"Of course. Since when do we let the Chaotic Storm Empire stop us?"

Chris hesitated. "I don't know..."

"Come on Princess. We can't turn back now."

Chris sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

\- Thunder Strike -

Back at Cliffton Manor, Z was checking the rangers for signs of spells of enchantments. "You said all the colors were neon?" he asked Jasper.

"Yeah," the black ranger nodded. "It was...weird and so bright. It hurt."

"Did anyone happen to see when Austin and Chris went?" Andy asked. "They kind of...disappaered."

"I was just wondering that myself," Z replied. He looked at Leo. "Oh, Red Ranger?"

"I didn't see," Leo admitted shamefully. "I was still blinded when they snuck off."

"It's ok," Quinn reassured her. She reached out to put her hand on Leo's but the red ranger stood up suddenly.

"I feel fine, I'm going upstairs."

Z watched her go, then his eyes strayed to Quinn, who looked really confused. She caught her uncle looking at her and turned around in her chair. He sighed and put his attention back on the two remaining rangers. "You two look fine. Just let me know if you feel weird or...strange." "Got it," Andy nodded. "Be on the look out for

"Got it," Andy nodded. "Be on the look out for anything strange Jas. Jas?" He twisted around to look at Jasper. The black ranger was sitting rigidly and unmoving. His dark eyes were the size of saucers. "Jas?"

"Jasper is everything ok?" Z asked, moving towards him slowly.

Quinn turned around. "Jasper, what's wrong?"

"Do...Do you guys see the elves too?" Jasper whispered.

"Elves?" Z asked in confusion. Jasper nodded. On the ground in front of him were a bunch of tiny elves in green clothes. They were dancing to some music he couldnt hear.

"Jasper there are no elves," Andy said.

"Yes there are," Jasper said.

"No, there isn't."

Jasper blinked. "They're gone."

"Where'd they go?"

"I don't know! They were there and now they're gone!"

"You're acting really..." Andy's words trailed off. "Oh my god..."

"Andy?" Quinn asked as she got up. She approached the white ranger carefully.

"What do you see?" Z asked him.

"Blood..."

"Where?" Andy simply lifted his finger and pointed.

"That's a wall," Jasper told him.

"There's blood dripping down the walls!"

"No there isn't!"

"Yes, there is!" He blinked and the blood disappeared. "Well, now there's not."

Z opened his mouth, but before he could say anything a blood-curdling scream reached their ears. Quinn bolted up the stairs, followed by Z and the two boys. She followed the sound to the dojo. Leo was on her back, staring wide-eyed at...nothing on the ground in front of her. "Leo, what's wrong?" Z asked as he and Quinn crouched down on either side of her.

"Quinn!" Leo breathed, chest heaving. "Quinn!"

"Leo I'm right here!" Quinn reassured her. She moved herself in front of Leo. "I'm right here!"

Leo's eyes moved up and met Quinn's. "Quinn?" she breathed shakily.

"I'm here. I'm here."

Z looked up at Jasper and Andy. "I think I know what the demon did to you guys," he said.

"Seeing weird stuff?" Jasper asked.

"Yes. Hallucinations."

"Fun..." Andy said.

"You guys need to find a place to sit and stay there."

"I'm going upstairs," Leo mumbled, standing up.

"I'll take you up there," Quinn offered.

"I'm fine." Leo left the room quickly, once again, much to Quinn's confusion.

"How strong do you think these hallucinations will get?" Andy asked.

Z sighed as he and Quinn stood up. "I think today was a bad day for Chris and Ausitn to go sneaking off by themsleves."


End file.
